Oracle's Vision: The Mummy
by imthekeptainnow
Summary: Hana O'Connell is Rick's half sister. What will happen with the half-Egyptian teacher along for the ride? Re-write of 'The Mummy'. Yes, yet another sister fic.
1. Chapter 1: Prison Cells and Old Friends

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

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Chapter 1: Prison Cells and Old Friends

Hana O'Connell held the hand of three-year-old Nawfal, who toddled beside her, his tongue poking out as he kept himself upward on the cobbled ground of the school yard. Though Hana's hand seemed to help a lot.

He squealed at the sight of his mother and pulled her behind him in his hurry. The young teacher laughed good-naturally and passed the child off to the parent, bidding them both goodbye.

"Miss O'Connell! Miss O'Connell!"

The young women paused on her journey back to the school, turning back to see two local teenagers running to catch up with her. She had seen them before around the city, recognised their faces, but she didn't know their names. What she did know was they tended to hang around by the prison, doing odd jobs for the Warden. She had a sickening feeling of who this call was about.

"The Warden asked us to come to you." One of the boys panted, leaning on his knees for support, "He says that your brother is in the prison again and this time it is serious. He asks that you go down to the cells as soon as possible."

Hana bit her lip worriedly, her eyes showing a mixture of anger and concern. Her brother had a habit of getting stuck in Cairo's prison, enough that the cruel, smelly Warden was more than a familiar face, but never before had his crimes been called 'serious'. Vaguely, as she rushed into the school building to grab her bag, she wondered what her impulsive brother had done this time.

"You slept with the French Ambassador's wife?" Hana repeated ludicrously, her hand on her chest.

The usual 20 minute trip across the city's centre took 15 minutes in her rush to reach the prison and she now found herself kneeling in front of the wooden cell she knew so well, her eyes on the dirty, uncombed man that she knew as her older brother.

He shrugged, seemingly uncaring. "It wasn't as if I asked her to sleep with me. It was her call and she was the one who forced me into the wardrobe. It wasn't my fault that the old man doesn't know how to please his wife."

Rick winced, grimacing, as the guards promptly hit him around the back of his head with batons.

"Hey!" Hana snapped at them in objection, her eyes flaring, "Rick, that's not the point. You have more intelligence than that - you knew what would happen if you were found out. Mr. Lawrence is baying for your death. I don't know how long I can get the Warden to hold him off."

Rick looked at his younger sister, guilt and regret swirling and clenching in his stomach. Since he had returned to Cairo three years ago, he'd been in and out of jail constantly, making his money with dishonest deeds. Though he hadn't meant to, he'd dragged his sister down with him.

"I'm sorry Hana …" he whispered truthfully, holding his hand out through the bars.

She grasped it comfortably and gave him a watery smile, blinking to keep tears at bay.

"O'Connell! You have more guests!"

The siblings turned at the Warden's voice, eyebrows raised, as the two well-dressed English people - a woman and a man - approached the cell whispering arguments between each other. Both were dressed as opposite to the natives surrounding them, seeming prim and proper. Definitely not the kind of people that were usually seen around the prison.

Hana straightened up in recognition. "Evie?"

The brunette woman looked equally shocked. "Hana? What are you doing here?"

Hana inclined her head. "Talking to my brother."

Evie wrinkled her nose. "_That's_ your brother?"

"Guilty."

Her brother's grip on her tightened and she turned towards him questioningly. "Who's he? And the Broad?"

Evie looked offended. "Broad?"

The man she was standing with – Jonathan, Evie's brother? Hana mused – laughed nervously. "Me? Oh, I'm, ah, a missionary. Spreading the good word and all ..." he nudged Evie forward, "And this is my sister, affectionately called Evie."

"She works at Cairo Museum of Antiquities." Hana added, "She helps me when I take the children from the school there on field trips."

"Well, I suppose she's not a total loss." Rick smiled stiffly, it flattering only under his sister's warning glare."

Evie looked aghast. "I beg your pardon?"

Hana shot her friend an apologetic look as Jonathan nudged her awkwardly in her side. She took a step forward. A loud noise deeper into the prison forced the Warden to leave, much the relief of the four foreigners.

"Mr. O'Connell, we found your puzzle box and we wanted to ask you about it." She smiled with forced pleasantries.

"No." Rick stated firmly.

"No?" Evie looked confused.

"No. You came to ask me about Hamunaptra." Rick corrected with a smug smile.

Hana looked surprised. Hamunaptra? She didn't know much about Hamunaptra other than the children in her class believed it was cursed (not hard to believe since it was called 'The City of the Dead') and that Evie wished to find the book of Amun-Ra supposedly hidden there. What she really wanted to know was how her brother knew about it – Rick never really cared for Egypt and all its wonders, all its history.

The Carnahan siblings moved close to the cell, crouching and lowering their voices, as if about to be told a great secret.

"How do you know this leads to Hamunaptra?" Evie asked curiously, a small, gold-coloured, star-shaped box in the palm of her hand.

"I know. I was there." Rick gave a stiff smile to the siblings.

"You were?" Hana sounded surprised and annoyed. Rick gave her a look that clearly said 'I'll explain later'.

Evie's face lit up with excitement, clearly not noticing what has pass between her friend and her brother. Jonathan scoffed from beside her, his arms folded across his chest.

"How do we know this isn't just a con?"

Rick gave him a look. "Do I know you?"

Jonathan looked nervous, pulling at his collar. "No, no I don't think so – just one of those faces you know."

Hana didn't believe him for a second and, judging by the look on Evie's face, neither did she.

Recognition flickered in his eyes. No one had time to do anything when Rick reached through the bars and planted his fist in Jonathan's face. Jonathan cried out and dropped to the ground, clutching his nose. Rick groaned as the guards hit him hard in response. Hana gasped in protest to the beating. Evie stepped over her brother, no reaction to what has just happened.

"That's your brother?" Hana smirked.

"Guilty." Evie mumbled with a smile before turning to Rick, "Were you really at Hamunaptra?"

"Yup."

Her eyes narrowed. "You swear?"

He grinned. "Every damn day."

"No, I mean-"

"I know what you mean. Seti's Place. The City of the Dead."

"Could you tell me? You know the exact location?"

"Do you really want to know?" Rick questioned with a knowing smile, gesturing Evie closer at her nod. She complied.

All Hana could do was gap as her brother smashed his lips to her innocent historian friend.

"Then get me out of here!" Rich demanded as he was dragged away by guards, "Do it Lady!"

"What? Where are you taking him?" Hana asked panicked.

"To be hung Miss O'Connell." The Warden explained, not sounding the least bit sympathetic.

"What?" Evie demanded.

The Warden merely raised an eyebrow. "Apparently, he had a _very _good time."

It was then the fat, stinking man walked off, heading towards his special viewing box that was especially for him. The two women followed at his heels, desperate.

"I'll give you a hundred pounds for that man's freedom." Evie began the bargaining battle.

"Lady, I'd pay one hundred pounds to see him get hung." The Warden returned his attention to the execution before him with a kind of sick glee.

"Two! Two hundred pounds!" Hana added her watering eyes on her brother who was already having a noose wrapped around his neck. No – she couldn't let anything happen to her brother! There had to be _something _she could do!

"Proceed!"

"Three hundred!"

The executioner said something in Arabic, in her hysteria, Hana didn't understand but it seemed to aggravate the Warden. "Of course you don't let I'm down!"

"Five hundred!" Evie tried again.

"Wait a moment!" The Warden paused, "And what else? I am a very lonely man ..."

Evie gasped at the insinuation and slapped the man's hand away from her thigh. The man's eyes darkened with anger before he turned back and waved his hand: a gesture to proceed. The executioner nodded once and pulled the lever.

"No!" Hana threw herself towards the ledge, her eyes wide, as the trapdoor opened and her brother dropped.

The Warden laughed. "Ha! His neck didn't break! Now we must watch him strangle to death!"

Hana gave a choked sob, tears falling from her eyes, and she glanced towards Evie pleadingly, begging her to do something – _anything_!

"He knows the location of Hamunaptra!"

The Warden looked shocked. "You lie!"

"I do not!" Evie assured, sounding offended once again.

The Warden was still disbelieving. "You're telling me this godless son of a pig knows the way to the City of the Dead?"

"Yes, and if you let him go, we'll give you ..." Evie trailed off, looking unsure of what to offer, "... ten percent!"

"Fifty!" the Warden argued.

"Twenty!"

"Forty!"

"Thirty!"

"Twenty-Five!"

"Ah, deal!" Evie agreed quickly, realising the Warden's mistake and not allowing the man to correct it.

The Warden looked annoyed but nodded stiffly. "Cut him down!" he called.

Hana cried out, behind her hand, in relief as she watched the executioner begrudgingly cut down the noose, sending Rick crashing to the floor, gasping for breath – but alive, and that's all the twenty year old cared about. She glanced at Evie and mouthed the words "Thank you".

Evie gave her a smug smile in return.


	2. Chapter 2: Siblings Talk

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So Don't sue!**

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Chapter Two: Siblings Talk and Strange Dreams

Rick winced as the alcohol stung the cuts n his back, clenching his fists and locked his jaw. Hana rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder gently, before retouching the cotton pad with whiskey. She gently continued cleaning the small openings in his pale skin, created by the guards batons.

"Stop complaining." She whispered, "It's not like you didn't deserve it."

"That's not true – I'm blaming Mrs Lawrence's wife and her damned legs. And you don't have the right to say 'stop complaining'. Why don't you have rub-in-alcohol anyway?"

"I ran out yesterday. Get over it and be a man. I'm nearly done." Hana told her brother firmly, swiping the cotton pad once more before throwing it into the bin she'd placed beside her and reached for the bandages and surgical tape.

Rick sat as still as he could, silent, listening to his sister cut the bandages into smaller sections and tape it to his skin. She tapped his shoulder gently, proud of herself.

"There. All done. You can relax now."

She moved from behind him to the Kitchen, to put the medical equipment away. Rick managed to grab the whiskey from his sister's hand before she got out of reach. He took a gulp before Hana dropped on the sofa beside him and took the bottle from him.

"Alright, now you have to explain." Hana stated, leaning back against her brother, "When did you go to Hamunaptra?"

Rick sighed. He knew this was coming. "Three years ago, before I reached Cairo. I was in the French Foreign Legion and we'd travelled to Hamunaptra. We were attacked by natives – locals in white scarves – and all of the patrol was killed. I'm telling you this Hana, something is wrong with that place. Evil is there I'm almost certain."

Hana couldn't suppress a shiver at her brother's voice and took a gulp of whiskey before handing the drink over. "Okay. Where'd you find that box Jonathan acquired?"

He shrugged. "It was in the sand, not a mile away from Hamunaptra. I stepped on it. I couldn't just leave it in the sand. Thought it might be worth something but when I reached Cairo, I couldn't bring myself to sell it."

Hana nodded in understanding. "Are you really going to help Evie and Jonathan get to Hamunaptra?"

"Hey – I may be a criminal but I am a man of my word. I promised. Besides, they're your friends and she did save my life. I feel like I owe her or something."

Hana nodded and failed at repressing a yawn.

Rick laughed. "Tired, are we?"

She mock glared at her brother. "Shut up. I had to wake up at five this morning to open the school." She shifted and curled up against her brother, "What time are we meeting at the docks?"

"Ah, ten. I'll take until night fall to get to the nearest village so we'll need to leave early." He laughed as she groaned, hiding her face in his t-shirt fabric.

Rick smiled and hugged his sister softly. He couldn't remember the last time they had spent time, like this, and it surprised him. He missed their quality time. They had been together for so long, despite the fact they weren't full blood relatives and looked, acted, so different. There time at the Cairo Orphanage had only brought them closer. He wondered what had happened to pull them apart for so long. He hoped that, whatever it was, wouldn't create another rift – not after they were finally together again.

"Get some sleep Hana. I'll wake you up with plenty of time before we have to leave tomorrow, sound good?" he whispered.

She looked up at her brother tiredly. "But I want to spend time together ..."

Rick kissed her forehead. "We can spend time together later. Sleep."

Hana yawned and turned into herself, closing her eyes and willing her breath to even out. Rick let out a sigh as his sister relax beside him and leant back into the sofa. He attempted to join his sister in the realm of slumber – a place he hadn't really been for days, his night in jail making his insomnia worse – and found himself unable to.

His mind was whirling. He couldn't entirely believe what he was going to do. When he reached Cairo, he had sworn he would never go in a mile radius of that place yet here he was, promised to take some English woman – who was obviously trouble – across the sands, to Hamunaptra. He had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen, something that was going to change everything, and he doubted he was going to like it much.

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"_Oracle! I need an answer!" The Egyptian Pharaoh demanded impatiently, slamming his hand onto the table startling his child._

_The Oracle raised her head to meet the Pharaoh's eyes and he found himself recoiling under her blank, piercing stare. She smirked, amused, moving away from the royal family and their Medjai to crouch beside the Nile waters, that flowed to the pond in the centre of her temple._

"_Patience is a virtue, my lord. My visions do not come at will. I cannot control them, though I wish I could." She whispered, trailing her sun-kissed fingers across the still, cold water._

"_I apologise Oracle but I really must ask for some form of answer. My advisor says he has reason to believe y life, and that of my daughter's, is in danger. I must know how to protect us."_

"_Then I must apologise too. I wish I could give you the answers you are looking for, my lord, especially when such valued life's are at stake." the Oracle spoke sincerely, "I cannot tell you everything you need to know but I will tell you, someone you trust, so be weary of those close to you. There is more but ... I cannot see it well." She seemed troubled._

_The Pharaoh sighed in acceptance, knowing something was better than nothing. " I Thank you Oracle. Please, come to me if you know any more."_

_The Oracle stood and bowed. "Of course, my lord ..."_


	3. Chapter 3: Worrying and Mothering

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

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Chapter Three: Worrying Brothers and Mothering Sisters

"Are you sure you want to come Hana?" Rick asked seriously, shifting their bags (bags he refused she could carry) on his shoulder, "You still have time to turn around and go home."

Hana rolled her eyes at her brother's over protective state, purposely ignoring the question he had been repeating since they had left her tiny apartment over 30 minutes previous and she'd made her answer perfectly clear back then, but if he needed reminding ...

"Rick enough, please. I'm coming to Hamunaptra with you, Evie and Jonathan. I'm a big girl – I can take care of myself. Plus someone needs to watch your back. Protect it against bugs, natives and other people's wives."

She walked towards the docked boat, smirking when she heard him call "will you ever let that go?" over the noise on the port before he hurried to catch up with her. Just in front of her, she could see her English friend and her brother. She smiled brightly and hurried to join them.

"Personally, I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel."

Hana choked on a laugh and gave her brother an amused look. "Now who could she be talking about?"

Rick ignored her humour and made him self known, stepping forward. "Anyone I know?"

Both Carnahan's turned at the voice. Jonathan smiled at them in his usual, pleasantly goofy way while Evie just stared, wide eyed at her brother's handsome transformation. Hana smiled, proud of her work. And to think he had complained that morning when she had taken his razor and scissors into her own hands.

"Oh, um, hello…" Evie stammered out, dropping her luggage.

"Smashing way to start our adventure, eh, O'Connell?" Jonathan said, patting Rick on the back and shaking his hand. He, surprisingly, pulled Hana into a hug though she gladly returned it.

"Yeah … yeah, smashing." Rick mumbled pulling out his wallet just to check it was where he left it.

"Oh, no, no, I'll never steal from a partner. Partner." Jonathan said, punching Rick awkwardly in the shoulder, making him smile.

"That reminds me; no hard feelings about the …" Rick imitated a punch to his jaw.

"Oh, no, no, happens all the time." Jonathan answered brightly, smiling, making Hana giggle. Yeah, she could believe that.

"Mr O'Connell," Evie began, "Can you look me in the eye, and guarantee this … isn't all some kind of a … flimflam? Because if it is, I am warning you I will-"

Hana was about to make a point of defending her brother but, after seeing the look on his face, decided against it.

"You're worrying me? Lady, let me put it this way … my whole damn garrison believed in this so much that, without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there, all we found was sand and blood." He nodded at her, while she stared back at him. "Let me get your bags." Without another word he headed straight onto the ship.

"I must apologise for my brother. As we have just proved, this is a touchy subject for him." Hana squeezed her friends hand comfortingly before taking off after her brother, suppressing a groan when she heard the Warden's voice behind her.

Hana found it didn't take long to find her brother, who was standing on the balcony beside the rooms the Carnahan/O'Connell siblings would be staying in. He must have put their bags in their rooms seeing, as he leant against the bars to look into the water, there was neither a duffel bag nor suitcase in sight. She remained quiet, silent as she approached his side and mimicked his position.

"Are you okay?" she asked after a moment's silence.

Rick sighed. "Yeah, I guess so. There's just something so infuriating about that woman."

"Seems like true love to me." Hana teased, her smile widening at her brother's annoyed look.

"Just relax. She doesn't know any better. She doesn't want to be tricked, especially since no one she has ever met has been to Hamunaptra before you showed up – in a Cairo prison, I might add. You cannot blame her for trying to protect her self." Hana explained softly.

"Alright, alright. I'll relax around her. Happy?"

"I will be when you get some sleep. And don't even try arguing with me." She stopped Rick before he could say anything, "I know you didn't get more than two hours of sleep. So go into the cabin and sleep mister. I'll join you once I tell Evie and Jonathan where we'll be."

"But-"

"Nope. Sleep." She stated firmly, shooing him towards their bedroom door until he complied. When he reached the doorway, he turned and poked his tongue out at her. Childishly, she returned the favour.

"Um, Hana? Are you quite alright?" Evie questioned, worried for her friend.

Hana flushed in embarrassment, immediately sticking her tongue back into her mouth, covering it with her hand. "Yes, yes, I'm alright. Just messing about with my brother. Um, we are in the room closest to here. I'm making Rick sleep – he's no good fighting sluggish – and I think I'm going to join him."

"Sleep sounds good to waste the journey away but how can you? We are on our way to Hamunaptra! The Lost City of the Dead! I can hardly believe it …" Evie grinned excitedly.

"Yes but what good would anyone be in Hamunaptra, if they were too tired to do anything?" Hana challenged.

Evie bit her bottom lip, her eyes sparkling. "You may have a point …" she admitted.

Hana laughed. "I always do." She gave Evie a brief hug in goodbye, "We shall meet and talk later. You have to tell me everything you know about Hamunaptra."

"I'll look forward to it."

The room was basic, large but was filled with mostly empty space. Their bags were on the floor by the beds and she could already see her brothers hunched from beneath the covers of one bed.

Removing her top layer of clothes, leaving her in a silk strip, and folding them up on the floor, Hana pulled back the covers on the single and slid her self beneath the sheets. Her head touched the pillow and she yawned, suddenly feeling irrationally tired. Her eyelids fluttered and she curled the sheets under her chin, allowing the steady waves hitting the barge to lull her into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4: Boat Rides and Stupid Brother

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

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Chapter Four: Boat Rides and Stupid Brothers

_Burning, fire surrounding all. Men in black, attacking with swords, guns, searching for something. Something important._

_It shouldn't have been found. The Creature should never rise. Should never again walk the earth. Death and destruction shall follow in his wake. The end of the world …_

_Gunshots shaking the cabins. Orange flames grew and spread. Metal clang together as they battle. A furious battle, one side losing more than just the fight._

_Across the sands, a body is found._

"_Death is only the beginning…"

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Hana made a low moan as slumber left on swift wings and she rolled onto her back. Her eyes blinked open and they stared into the dark blanket that consumed the room, telling her it was night time. She sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, and glanced towards her brother's bed.

Empty.

Swinging her legs over her bed, she stood up and hurriedly replaced her clothes, straightening her skirt and buttoning her blouse, before leaving the room. Her hands ran through her hair, tidying it slightly, as she moved quietly through the lantern lit barge.

"Quit playing with your glasses and cut the deck, would you, Burns?"

"Without my glasses I can't see the deck to cut, can I, Daniels?"

Hana, confused, followed the voice, pausing once she could see the four men – one being Jonathan – sitting around a table. She heard footsteps behind her and turned slightly, smiling when she saw Rick, his weapon bag flung over his shoulder. He gave her an one armed hug.

"Hana! O'Connell! Sit down, sit down, we could always more players." Jonathan encouraged with a grin, seemingly oblivious to the strange looks he received. _Probably for suggesting a women join in their gambling game_ Hana thought, slightly irritated at the stereotypes of women.

She gave the Carnahan a small smile. "I suppose you've been speaking with Evie. Sorry Jonathan, my gambling days are over."

"I only gamble with my life, never my money." Rick replied.

"Besides, you guys aren't ready to have your can handed to you by an O'Connell." Hana teased her smile widening.

The blond snorted disbelievingly. "Yeah right. No girl has ever beaten a Henderson and no girl ever will."

Hana just smiled. When they first left Cairo Orphanage, before she had gotten her job with the school, Hana had obtained her money by conning men, and women, in card games; Rick going in the opposite direction to card games, using more violent means of making money.

"Never?" Daniels asked Rick, moving the subject away from sexism, "What if I was to bet you five hundred dollars we get to Hamunaptra before you?"

Hana had to bite her lip to stop herself correcting the older American's bad grammar. Her school yard habits were tough to get rid of.

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?" she asked instead, to distract herself.

"Damn straight we are." The blond – Henderson – replied, a mixed grin on his face.

"Hmm. Who says we are?" Rick asked.

"He does." All three Americans pointed at Jonathan. Both siblings shot him a look of annoyance and he chuckled nervously.

"Well, how 'bout it?" Daniels asked Rick.

Rick smiled. "Alright, you're on."

Hana groaned and her face dropped into her hands. "Oh boy …"

"What makes you so confident sir?" Burns, Hana assumed, questioned curiously.

"What makes _you_?"

"Oh … we've got us a man who's actually been there." Henderson replied with a smile.

"Oh, what a coincidence because –"Jonathan began, but Rick smacked him upside the head with his bag, "Who's play is it? Is it my play? I thought I just, um …" Jonathan said quickly. Rick put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

"Gentlemen, we've got us a wager. Good evening, Jonathan." He tightened the grip on Jonathan, before leaving.

"Night." Jonathan said.

Hana waved politely to them before following her brother.

Evie was reading, alone, at a table when the O'Connell's found her. Rick threw his bag onto the table and she shrieked in fear, startled. Hana laughed, dropping into a seat, and Rick made a face.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya."

"The only thing that scares me, Mr. O'Connell, are your manners." She replied curtly.

"Still angry about that kiss, huh?" Rick asked her.

Hana gave him an exasperated 'you-had-bring-that-up-didn't-you?' look, which he ignored. Her eyes narrowed and she muttered under her breath, something about the stupidity of men and 'they always think they know best'.

"Oh, if you call _that _a kiss." Evie replied and Hana choked on a laugh.

Rick glared at his sister and opened the bag he carried, making both women jump in surprise at the sudden movements. Hana looked down and rolled her eyes as she saw the arsenal her brother had gotten into the habit of carrying around with him. Typical Rick.

"Um … did I … miss something? Are we … are we going into battle?" Evie asked, obviously amused by her statement if her smile was anything to go by.

"Lady, there's something out there. Something underneath the sand." Rick answered, as he began preparing the weapons for a fight he was sure to come.

"Yes, well, I'm hoping to find a certain artefact. A book, actually. My brother thinks there's treasure. What … what do you thinks out there?"

"In a word? Evil." Rick replied, and Hana shuffled awkwardly in her seat. It wasn't that she didn't believe her brother – she did – and that's what made it all the more terrifying. Rick caught the movement and, expertly, loaded a handgun, passing it to his sister. She gave him a weak smile, not feeling that much safer, and checked the safety was still on before she loaded it in the only place she had: her bodice.

"The Bedouin and the Tuaregs believe that Hamunaptra's cursed." Rick added.

"Oh, look, I don't believe in fairy tales and hokum, Mr. O'Connell, but I so believe that one of the most famous books in history is buried out there. The Book of Amun-Ra. It contains all the secret incantations of the old kingdom. It's what first interested me in Egypt when I was a child. It-it's why I came her – sort of a … a life's pursuit." She explained.

That much was clear. It was written all over her face. The excitement, the expectation of finding this oh-so-special book.

"And that fact that they say it's made out of pure gold makes no never mind to you? Right?" Rick said, almost disbelieving.

"You know your history." Evie stated, sounding surprised.

Hana snorted and shook her head. She gave Evie an amusement look. "Nope, he knows his treasure."

"Um … by the way … why did you kiss me?" Evie asked nervously, curiously, after a moment's silence. Hana's face returned to her hands as she could only imagine the answer her brother would give her.

"I was about to be hanged. It seemed like a good idea at the time." He answered with a laugh. Hana shook her head. _Idiocy thy name is Rick …_

"Ohh!" Evie stood up, glaring at Rick. Without another word, she stormed off, leaving the two siblings alone.

"What? What'd I say?" Rick asked, looking puzzled.

Genuinely confused. Men …

Hana stood up and began to walk in the direction her friend had huffed off in, patting her brother's head as she passed. "Nothing, stupid brother of mine. Absolutely nothing."


	5. Chapter 5: Different Worlds

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

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Chapter Five: Different Worlds and Men in Black

"George Bembridge, in 1860 …" Evie mumbled to herself as she paced the cabin she shared with Jonathan, a book in one hand and her dressing gown in the other. She was trying so hard to concentrate on the printed words before her, but her mind was whirling.

Damn that Rick O'Connell! Just one stupid, unexpected kiss from the jailed man and she was running around in circles, unable to focus on anything. She attempted to hang up the dressing gown, missing the hook and allowed it to fall to a heap on the floor as her lips tingled at the sudden memory of that kiss crossed her mind – again!

"Pull your self together girl. It wasn't _that _good of a kiss." She mumbled to herself.

"You really shouldn't talk to yourself. People will think you're mad."

Evie jumped at Hana's voice, her hands latching onto her chest, her book hitting the floor. Her brown eyes widened, filled with fear, surprise and panic.

Hana stood guilty in the doorway to the Carnahan's cabin, shifting from foot to foot. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Evie took a calming breath and gave the younger girl an encouraging smile. "No problem, Hana. Come in – don't just stand in the doorway."

Hana carefully shut the door behind her and sat on the edge of the empty bed, her blue eyes on Evie as she hurriedly picked up the dressing gown and the book that had dropped and put them in their places.

"Are you okay? You seem … distracted …"

"Oh, yes, I'm good, fine even. I just …" she let out a frustrated groan, "That damn brother of yours! He's just so, arghh, and so, ahh!" she dropped pathetically onto the bed opposite.

Hana raised an eyebrow of amusement, a smile playing on her lips. "Yep, my brother has that affect on people. I know he won't apologise for kissing you, or for what he said – he doesn't see what he's done wrong – so I feel I should do it for him."

Evie gave her a small smile. "It's no problem Hana. Honestly. It just … caught me by surprise, that's all. I've never met anybody that would just … kiss somebody without their permission and so out of the blue like that – especially a complete stranger!"

"You've lived a very sheltered lifestyle, Evie. The way this is affecting you shows it. But that's not a bag thing." She added hurried when she caught the look on her friends face, "It's just Rick isn't sheltered. He knows of all the darkness in the world and he knows he's probably affected by it the most. That kiss …"

"…means nothing to him." Evie finished with a sombre smile.

"Ah, I didn't say that." Hana quickly objected.

Evie stood up and approached the mirror by the bathroom. She had a self-pitying smile on her face as she used the ends of her fingers to brush her curls over her shoulders. "Yes, but you meant it."

Hana looked down and rubbed her eyes furiously with her hands. It was times like this that she could really hate her brother. His rash actions, his inability to think before he acts, always seems to cause trouble – and not just for himself. Usually she just passed it off as "just Rick being Rick" but Evelyn was her friend. Her only friend in Cairo really, and she'd never seen the woman so affected. She hated it. Vaguely, she wondered how many other women he had left like this, confused and distract …

A low gasp of panic from Evie's side of the room caused Hana to look up. A black robed man was holding Evie tightly against the mirror, the hook that replaced his hand threatening close to her face. Her face was pale, ashen even, with fear as she breathed heavily, her eyes wide.

Hana moved slightly instinctively, not sure to move forwards and help or to run away, and the metal from her gun hit the space between her breasts, as it to remind her it was there. Fumbling quietly and quickly, she removed the weapon from her underwear, her fingers shaking as they positioned themselves. It felt natural, even though it had been so many years since she had held a handgun, ever felt the need to, but her positions never faltered, just as she always remembered.

_Rick had always said it was like riding a bike …_

"Hey!" Hana found her self objecting, though her voice was hoarse with fear for her friend, and for her self.

"Be quiet! Where's the map?" the man ordered.

Evie stammered a bit, the adrenaline running through her veins making it hard for her to form English words. With a hand she gestured towards the small coffee table in the centre of the room, upon which was the map to Hamunaptra, spread out and ready to read, and the puzzle box.

The hook-handed man nodded, accepting it. "And the key? Where is the key?"

"Key? Key? I … I don't … What key?" Evie stammered.

Hana struggled to bring herself to shoot. She was trembling too much. Evie and the man … they were too close together. Her uneven fingers could mean the different between shooting the attacker and shooting her friend. But she had to try, didn't she? Because it could also be the difference between them both leaving, injured, uninjured, or even dead.

Slowly she began to bring her finger down.

BANG!

Hana jumped at the loud noise that burst from right beside her ear. It definitely wasn't her gun, she knew for certain. She watched as the hook man dodged the bullet and spun around, holding Evie against him as a human shield.

"Evelyn!" Rick shouted, holding two shotguns in position but not shooting. It was too close – he could hit Evie if he was just a millimetre off target.

The window opened to Hana's right, another man in black appearing in the gap, guns pointing into the room. Hana panicked and shot. As if she'd never stopped practising, the bullet hit the man and he dropped, crying out in pain. Rick, jumping at the gunshot, turned and shot as well. His bullet hit the lantern that hung in the room, the flame and oil hitting the floor and lit the whole floor.

In the chaos, Evie had seen her chance to escape the man's hands. Seeing him distracted by his fallen friend, her hands reached out, looking for something, anything, to protect herself with. It wrapped around something and she brought it forward, bring it down on the man's face. It wasn't until the man screamed that she realised it was a candle. Though she winced at the pain he must be feeling, she struggled out of his grasp and ran for the door, hiding behind Rick when another man in black appeared. Rick shot him straight. The three stumbled into the hallway together.

Evie's eyes widened in panic and she attempted to run back, only to be stopped by Rick. "The map! The map! I forgot the map!"

Rick tugged her hard away from the burning room. "Relax. I'm the map. It's all up here." He pointed to his head.

"Oh that's comforting." Evie mumbled, sharing a look with her teacher friend as they were both pulled on the main deck of the barge, where the fighting continued.

More men in black spread the fire that had started in the cabin and the passengers on the boat began panicking, jumping off the side of the boat into the Nile River below in an attempt to escape.

"Hold on to this." Rick said, thrusting his gun bag into Evie's hand. Hana assisted Rick in reloading more guns, knowing he'd probably need the help. She realised with a small shock that her hands had long since stopped shaking, _just like the good old days_, she thought bitterly. The gunshots got closer and closer, until Evie had to tug the two O'Connell's out of the way of the fire. They both looked surprised, blinking for a moment, before nodding at her. Raising their guns, they resumed the fight, firing back with more passion than the men in black possessed.

"What do we do now?" Evie asked, looking around for an escape route.

"Can you swim?" Hana asked her friend seriously.

"Well, yes, when the occasion calls for it." Evie answered, obviously not understand the question. She objected as Rick lifted her up off her feet.

"Trust me, it calls for it." He stated before he dropped her over the edge of the barge.

Rick went to help his sister jump when someone tugged him back, and Hana shouted at him. The two punched each other, dodging some blows and some hitting straight on target, before the man in black attempted to choke him. He panicked for a bit before he remembered his training and used his head-but technique, making Hana sigh out in relief as the man dropped.

Rick brought his hands around her waist and pushed them both off the ledge into the cold water below.

* * *

They climbed out on the riverbank, the Americans and their team getting out on the other side of the water. Hana shook her self in attempt to get the water off her clothes and listened to the others complain.

"We've lost everything! All our tools, all the equipment … all my clothes!" Evie finished frustrated.

"O'Connell!" Both siblings looked across the water to the scrawny man; one had a confused look on her face. _Who the hell was that? _

"Hey!" he yelled louder, "O'Connell! It looks to me that I've got all the horses!"

"Hey Beni!" Rick shouted back, "Looks to me that you're on the wrong side of the RI-VER!"

Beni looked as if he didn't believe Rick, studied his surroundings, then cursed in some other language other than Arabic or English and kicked the water.

Hana tugged on her brother's clothes. "Who's that?"

He sighed and glanced around him. "Tell ya later."


	6. Chapter 6: Clothes and Hamunaptra

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter Six: New Clothes and Hamunaptra Revealed

The material was dark green, making her blue eyes even bolder than they were before, sequenced and embellished making it shimmer in the sunlight. It was light, perfect for the heated weather that Egypt had to offer. The trousers, baggy as they were, felt like water on her skin and the blouse that was placed over the top of it held everything in the right place while still managing to look modest. The head scarf covered the back of her dark hair, protecting it from the sun's rays, and a transparent piece of the fabric covered her nose and her mouth delicately.

Hana never thought she would find something that would fit so well on her, that made her look beautiful – something she definitely was not. Her hands were still running down the sides of the fabric in disbelief when Evie and her self left the tent, the villages' women at their feet, and approached their brothers.

"You know you could have got them for free if we'd given them our sisters?" they heard Rick joke as both he and Jonathan led the camels away from the herd.

Jonathan laughed. "Awfully tempting isn't it?"

Rick laughed before losing his breath. "Awfully …"

Hana smiled as she approached one of the camels, patting his nose slightly, her eyes watching her brother's dumbstruck expression as he stared at the blushing Evie. _Maybe that kiss had affected both sides …_

"Oi! Hurry up! We must get to Hamunaptra soon!" the Warden shouted as he struggled to get his camel to oblige to his will. Feeling sorry for the animal, Rick helped him get it to the right level to climb abroad.

Hana glanced at the large animal before her. She had never ridden a camel before, a horse yes, but never a camel. She wasn't sure what to do.

"You alright there Hana?" Rick asked concerned.

"Yes … but, um, it's … big." She finished lamely, her cheeks red.

Rick laughed good-naturally and 'assisted' in helping to get the camel to bend and for Hana to get onto it. She squeaked and held onto the sides of the seat as the animal began to rise.

"Okay now what do I do?" she asked nervously.

Rick, already on his own camel, pulled up beside her. "Now, you hit his neck, gently, with the camel whip. Like this."

He demonstrated with skill that his younger sister envied as she attempted to copy the actions and nearly fell out of her seat. She glared at the Warden, who laughed loudly at her misfortune. Taking a deep breath, she tried again, letting it out when the animal prodded along at a leisurely pace.

The dessert was hot, empty, sandy and hot but what else would you expect with a dessert? Despite all the flaws, Hana found it brilliant. She loved the breeze and the feeling of the sand on the ground. Though not everyone around her shared the same feelings.

"Never did like camels." Jonathan complained, "Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit." As if on cue, the Warden spat into the sand, "Disgusting." Jonathan finished his opinion, wrinkling his nose.

Hana shared a look with Evie and both women giggled, neither sure whether he was talking about camels or their smelly guest.

"I think they're adorable." Evie smiled, patting the base of the camel's neck.

The Warden started to sing some random song in Arabic, and they all turned and stared at him. The group didn't talk much as the ride continued. They rode probably for the entire day, without stopping to even rest a little.

Before anyone knew, it was night time.

And they were still riding.

God, Hana wished they would stop already, even just for a moment. Right now, she'd do anything to not have to sitting on that damned uncomfortable seat. Evie had fallen asleep on her camel, and her head fell onto Rick's shoulder. He gently pushed her back into a sitting position. Her camel grunted, and Rick made a shushing noise at it.

The Warden snored loudly on his camel, and Jonathan slapped him with his camel whip. He started to curse in Arabic. That was when we heard the whining of multiple horses from above us somewhere. Both O'Connell siblings looked up to find a group of ten men staring shadowed in black.

Hana shivered, her gut instinct telling her that the men were the same as the ones that attacked them on the barge.

* * *

It took the whole night to reach the supposed correct spot. It was just before sun rise that the O'Connell group reached that place. That was when they met up with the American group again.

"Good morning, my friend!" Beni called out to Rick. Hana scowled at the cowardly man, having been told the whole French Legion story on the night journey when she found herself unable to sleep on the rocking camel. The groups got closer and stopped, each side sizing the other up.

"What the hell are we doing?" Daniels demanded angrily.

"Patience, my good barat'm, patience." Beni answered.

"Remember our bet O'Connell. First one to the city, 500 cash bucks." Henderson said to us. Rick shook his head.

"A hundred of them bucks is yours if you helps us win that bet." Daniels added to Beni. Once again, Hana had to stop herself from correcting his bad grammar.

"Oh, my pleasure." Beni said with a small nod, "Hey O'Connell – nice camel."

In answer, the ex-French Legion patted his camel's head.

"Get ready for it." Rick said suddenly.

"For what?" Hana asked confused.

Rick nodded towards the east. "We're about to be shown the way."

The sun rose above the sand and, like a heat wave, the City of the Dead was revealed in all its glory. It was so surprising, so beautiful, that it left the younger O'Connell speechless.

"Will ya look at that." Henderson said, amazed.

"Can you believe it?" Daniels added with a smile.

"Hamunaptra." Burns, awed, said.

"Here we go again." Rick groaned.

Both Beni and Rick whacked their camels, forcing them to run forward. Hana gripped the reigns on her camels, in case she moved to fall off. _So the race begins …_

Rick raced in front, until he was side by side with Beni. That's when the dirty, rotten cheater started whipping his 'old friend' with his stick. Hana's eyes narrowed and she pushed herself to catch up with her siblings. Just as Rick managed to move out of the way, Hana grasped at the back of Beni's collar and dragged him to the sandy ground.

"So long Beni!" Both O'Connell's saluted him with a laugh, which only got louder when they heard Evie say, "That serves you right" as she rushed pass.

"Teek-teek-teek!" Evie started to make weirder noises than before, and her camels started to run faster until she was side by side with the O'Connell's. Rick just stared at her, Hana smirking, as the camel picked up even more speed until she was leading the herd.

"Whoo-oo! Go Evie, go!" Jonathan yelled.

There was no denying who won.


	7. Chapter 7: Digging and the Sarcophagus

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 7: Digging and the Sarcophagus

The digging started that morning. While the Americans stood around, letting the hired slave workers do all the work, Rick prepared a rope to take them into the depths of Hamunaptra, a difficult job to do even if he wasn't messing about. Though, Hana supposed, purposely slapping the Warden with the end of the rope is hardly anything when the man nearly got him self hung only a few days before.

"That's the Statue of Anubis," Evie explained, pointing to a statue, "Its legs go deep underground. According to Bembridge scholars, that's where we'll find a secret compartment, containing the golden book of Amun-Ra. Jonathan, you're meant to catch the sun with that." She added, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He was cleaning off a large plate, like a mirror.

"What are they for?" Hana asked, peering into the hole that led under the city.

"Ancient mirrors - it's an old Egyptian trick. You'll see." Evie smiled widely and Hana couldn't help but return it.

"Uh, here, this is … uh, for you." Rick held out a leather pouch that no one had even realised he was holding. Shyly, Hana watched the exchange out of the corner of her eye with a small smile. The more they interacted, the more they got interesting. Evie just stared at him, her jaw slack. "Go ahead. It's something I borrowed off our American brethren. I thought you might need it when you're … uh, yeah." He made a digging motion.

Hana stifled a laugh at her brother nervous, out of character actions, and reverted her attention to making sure the rope was tight.

"What are you looking at?" she heard him snap at the Warden, who had no sense to hide his laughter at the O'Connell's uneasy attitude around the young woman. Evie opened the pouch slowly and smiled when she saw the tool kit that was laid out before her. Having lost all her equipment on the burning barge, she was more than grateful for the gift, even if it was most likely stolen.

"Hey, look for bugs. I hate bugs!" The Warden asked as Rick shimmed his way down the securely fastened rope into the darkened room below. Hana rolled her eyes and followed, allowing her self to be helped to the ground by her brother. Evie followed her, Jonathan after that and lastly, the cowardly Warden.

"Do you realise that we're standing in a room no one has entered for three thousand years?" Evie reminded everyone, breathless.

"It is an amazing thought." Hana agreed, standing still in the dark room. She didn't want to leave the spot, knowing that without any light she was hopelessly clumsy.

"Whoo! What is that god awful smell?" Jonathan asked loudly and the Warden walked past him, seeming to search out the source of the smell, "Oh …"

Evie walked over to one of the ancient mirrors, similar to the one above the ground. Just as before, she adjusted the reflective material, brushing off cobwebs. "And then there was light …"

The room filled with light, reflected off the sun to other mirrors that were perfectly positioned around the room.

"Hey that's a neat trick." Rick commented.

"Oh my god, it's a sah-net-jer." Evie stepped forward to circle the room, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Huh?"

"It's a preparation room, Rick." Hana said under her breath, almost as if speaking aloud would disturb the harmony and wonder of the room.

"Preparation for what?"

"Mummies, my good son. This is where they made mummies." Jonathan elaborated as he walked past. They walked through a dark hall, Rick in front with the fire light with Hana and Evie hot at his heel, Jonathan and the Warden behind them. In his other hand, Rick held a gun. Nervously, Hana toyed with the handle of her own. Since the barge, she had been tense about enemies attacking them at every corner – she didn't want to take anymore chances.

That was when they heard a skittering noise.

"What the -?" the Warden asked.

"What was that?" Jonathan whispered in terror.

"Sounds like … bugs." Rick answered.

Evie's lips quirked. "He said, it sounds like bugs." She whispered loudly, almost hissed eerily, just to scare the fat man.

"What do you mean, bugs? I hate bugs!" He said, terrified.

They continued forward quietly and carefully, Rick's gun slightly rose from its previous position, expecting the worst. Turning a corner, they entered an empty room and peered around.

"The legs of Anubis," Evie explained the stone pillars – which turned out to be legs – with the gesture of her arm, "The secret compartment should be hidden somewhere inside here."

A noise, different than before, could be heard from around a corner, making them jump. Slowly moving forward, they got closer to the noise. On the way, Rick got out both his guns and Hana pulled out her own. She bit her bottom lip nervously, hoping she wouldn't have to use it again. They reached an opening in the wall and raised their guns, poised … at the faces of the Americans.

"You scared the bejesus out of us, O'Connell." Henderson said.

"Likewise" Rick nodded, as the guns slowly lowered.

"Hey, that's my tool kit!" Burns said, seeing the bundle in Evie's arm and stepped forward.

"No, I don't think so." Rick stated and the guns were raised again.

"Perhaps I was mistaken." Burns said hesitantly, backing off. The guns lowered.

"Well, have a nice day gentlemen. We have a lot of work to be getting along with." Evie said loudly.

"Push off! This is our dig site." The Egyptologist said instantly.

"We got here first." Evie argued hotly. The guns rose. Hana couldn't help feeling frustrated. This was hopeless – they weren't getting any where with their gun play.

"This here is _our _statue, friend." Daniels said.

"I don't see your name written on it … pal." Rick retorted.

"Yes, well, there's only five of you, and fifteen of me. You're odds are not so great, O'Connell." Beni said to them. Hana glared at him, finding him more infuriating by the minute. This is what she would use to argue her case later when she was questioned about her childish actions.

She stepped on his foot.

The man cried out dropping to his knees to clutch his foot. Hana smiled, pleased with herself, ignoring the disbelieving looks she received.

"If we were against fifteen of you Beni, I'm sure it wouldn't take too long to defeat." She smiled sweetly at him. Rick managed to catch her eye and told her, silently, to stay out of this. Although she knew he was only trying to protect her from getting shot, it still irritated her. Huffing, she moved to join Evie's side.

"I've had worse." Rick added to Beni.

"Yeah, me too" Jonathan agreed, getting himself some strange looks.

Hana heard gravel moving beside her and glanced towards Evie, seeing her watching the ground as she brushed some dirty into a crack in the ground. Hana raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, look, for goodness sake, let's be nice children." Evie snapped, moving in between the two groups of men.

Catching on, Hana copied her. "If we're going to play together, we must learn to share." She lowered the guns of Rick and Henderson. Both teams seemed to staring at the two women ludicrously, amazed at the pure idea of two younger women treating them like children.

"There are other places to dig." Evie added quietly.

Rick lowered his guns, and put them away.

* * *

The group moved deeper underground, below the floor they were on previously.

"According to these hieroglyphics … we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between his legs." Evie explained as Rick started to dig at the roof.

"When those damn Yanks go to sleep," Jonathan began, adding quickly, "No offences."

"None taken"

"We'll dig our way up and steal the book from right under their noses." Jonathan finished.

"Are you sure we can find this secret compartment?" Hana asked, watching her brother and the Carnahan's.

"Oh, yes, if those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it," Evie answered, "No offence."

"None taken"

"Where'd our smelly little friend get to?" Jonathan asked.

Hana raised an eyebrow at the question but glanced around, searching for the Warden. He was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"Let me get this straight," Rick began, as Jonathan practiced his golfing skills with his hammer, "They ripped out your guts and stuffed them in jars."

Hana winced at the crude description that her brother offered, silently cursing the man for asking the question: "Why would the Egyptian's need a room especially for preparation for the afterlife?" This question had excited Evie so much that she couldn't stop the facts – however gruesome they were – pouring from her mouth, though it was to be expected considering the woman's love for Egypt and all its wonders.

"And then they'd take out your heart as well. Oh! And you know how they took out your brains?" Evie said.

"Evie, I don't think we need to know this," Jonathan interrupted, but she went on anyways.

"They'd take a sharp, red-hot poker, stick it up your nose, scramble things about a bit and then rip it all out through your nostrils." She explained, while doing a demonstration with the crow bar she held.

"Enough Evie, please" Hana begged, hating the images her over reactive imagination were creating at the description. The Carnahan woman gave her friend a look, amusement crossed with apologetic.

"Oh, that's gotta hurt," Rick commented, touching his nose as if experiencing the process of mummification.

"It's called mummification; you'll be dead when they do this," Evie answered him.

"For the record, if I don't make it out of here, don't put me down for mummification," Rick said.

"Likewise," Jonathan added and Hana nodded in agreement.

Jonathan did another golfing swing, and a rock smashed into the ceiling they were standing under. There was a crashing noise and Hana and Evie found them selves yanked out of the way by Rick as something dropped to the floor. Jonathan turned a guilty look on his face.

"Oh my God … it's a...it's a...sarcophagus." Evie whispered in amazement and then looked up, "Buried at the base of Anubis. He must have been someone of great importance. Or he did something very naughty."

For some reason, Hana couldn't help believing that it was probably the latter one.

Evie and Rick brushed off the dust from the sarcophagus.

"Well, who is it?" Jonathan asked.

"He That Shall Not Be Named," Evie replied, reading the hieroglyphics, her hands trailing across the inscription. Rick blew off more of the dust to reveal a star shaped indent on the lid.

"This looks like some sort of a lock," he commented.

"Well, whoever was in here sure wasn't getting out," Jonathan said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Rick agreed, adding, "It'd take us a month to crack this thing without a key."

"A key …" Hana whispered, wondering where she'd heard that before, frustrated that she couldn't remember.

"A key? A key! A key! Now _that_'s what he was talking about!" Evie said, realizing what that meant. Hana just stared at her, her eyes suddenly wide as everything clicked into place. _A key!_ Evie started rummaging through the bag.

"Who … who is talking about what?" Rick asked with a puzzled look, staring at Jonathan. He shrugged.

"The man on the barge," Evie answered, "The one with the hook."

"He was...he was looking for a key." Hana finished, peering over her friends shoulder, her eyes wide. She watched as Evie took out the puzzle box and fiddled around with it for a moment. Her tongue stuck out in concentration as she clicked the hidden switch on the outside of the box and it opened to find out it was a star shape, matching the shape engraved in the lid.

"Hey, that's mine!" Jonathan added. He was ignored.

She placed it on the sarcophagus, and it fitted perfectly. Evie looked up at us and smiled triumphantly. Hana returned the smile, jumping on the balls of her feet, caught up in the excitement that she could feel radiating off her closest friend.

That was when a scream ripped across the silence of the cavern, making everyone jumping at the suddenness of it. Their feet moved of their own accord, searching out the problem, while Jonathan felt the need to grab the puzzle box, to take it with him, as he ran passed. Rick pulled out his gun, ready for anything, yelling at the Warden to stop as screamed and ran towards them. The Warden completely ignored them as he pushed them out of the way. He ran straight into the wall, and collapsed to the floor on his back.

Hana covered her mouth with her hands. She knew what had happened before anyone had even gotten close to the body.

He was dead.


	8. Chapter 8: Attack and That Man in Black

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

* * *

Chapter 8: An Attack and _That_ Man in Black!

Hana shivered as the Egyptian winds blew against her skin, bringing goose bumps to the surface. It wasn't cold – far from it, even in the darkness of the night – but the events of earlier that day, the Warden's death, had left her feeling vulnerable and … scared, she guessed the word was. There was something about this place, about Hamunaptra, that was driving her mad, made her want to turn tail and run as far way from this place as possible – but she'd only started feeling it when she saw the stinking man's cadaver.

She raised her hands up to the fire, warming them, and stayed absolutely silent as the Carnahan siblings discussed what had happened that day.

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evie asked, looking almost worried.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Jonathan retorted in a kind of questioning joke, meant to lighten the atmosphere. It worked for the most part. It made Hana relax visibly, a weak smile on her lips, and she leant against her head onto his shoulder. Jonathan looked surprised for a moment before relaxing, seeming more comfortable.

"Seems that our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today," Rick said as he approached them, dropping into the space between Evie and Hana, "Three of their diggers were … uh, melted."

"What?" Hana's eyes widened as she straightened up, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"How?" Jonathan wondered.

"Salt acid. Pressurised salt acid. It's some kind of ancient booby trap."

"Maybe this place really is cursed." Jonathan commented.

The wind picked up and died down as quickly as it came. Hana shivered again and shared a worried look with her friends. _Good lord, I need to get myself some optimistic friends_ she reminded herself in a crappy joke, her insides churning.

"Oh, for goodness sakes, you two!" Evie exclaimed, making all three of them jump at the unexpected outburst.

"You don't believe in curses, huh?" Rick and Hana said together, unintentionally.

"No, I don't. I believe if I can see it and I can touch it, then it's real. That's what I believe." She sounded so confident. Too bad Hana couldn't be so sure. She didn't have any evidence, any personal experience with any kind of curse, but … Rick seemed really overprotective, more so than usual, over anyone coming to this place. Add in the Warden's mysterious death … She couldn't find any other excuse, any other reason. It couldn't just be coincidence, _could it?_ She wondered.

"I believe in being prepared." Rick answered her statement and picked up his rifle, placing it beside him for easy access. It only seemed to strengthen his words.

"Let's see what our friend the Warden believed," Jonathan said, skilfully moving off topic, picking up the deceased man's bag. He rummaged through it. Evie and Hana shrieked when Jonathan screamed and Rick jumped to attention, alert and ready for battle.

"My god, what is it?"

"A broken bottle" A universal sigh of relief passed them, quickly followed by one of annoyance, "Glenlivet. Twelve years old! He may have been a stinky fella, but he had good taste." Jonathan opened up the bottle and gulped down the first of the untouched alcohol.

"Give me that," Hana muttered, snatching it off the man – who instantly objected – and took two long gulps, hoping it would calm her nerves. It worked, for the most part, until they heard the whinnying of horses from a distance.

The same from yesterday.

Her blood pumping, Hana reached for her gun, holding it expertly towards the ground, scanning the area before her. Rick glanced at his sister and nodded when he saw her already in place. She may not be a fighter, passive, preferring not to fight (something he was glad of) but he had taught her well and he was glad she remembered at least some of it.

"Take this. Stay here." He instructed at the three, throwing his rifle at Evie, who caught it awkwardly.

"No, wait, wait! Wait for me! Wait!" Evie scrambled and ran after the older O'Connell.

"Evie! Excuse me, but didn't the man just say 'stay here'? Evie!" Jonathan yelled at his sister, moving to follow her. Hana watched them go, uncertain of what to do, before sighing and following the three, moving fast to catch up with them.

A group of men in black raced into Hamunaptra, riding on horseback, swords drawn, guns raised, and ready for battle. Definitely the ones from the barge Hana confirmed when she saw the black robes, and definitely the men on the cliff. They'd been watched. She shivered at the thought and clung to her gun tighter.

The gun fire started before anyone had raised a weapon. Rick instantly got into his fighting mode, the rifle raised and firing bullet after bullet towards the men in black. Jonathan panicked for a moment, scrambling, before pulling out his two handguns and got into the fight. Hana watched Evie move out of the way helplessly, having no idea how to use a gun, before she raised her own. She shot at their horses, at their knees, shots that were no where near lethal, not wanting to kill them.

They shot at the Americans' workers, who scattered in a fright having nothing to protect them selves with. They were easy targets. Henderson and Burns started shooting at the men, knocking them off the horses, probably killing them. Bullets were flying everywhere, no one knew which way was right. One man rode towards us, his sword drawn, with Jonathan running in front of him, out of bullets and just wanting to hide.

"O'Connell!" he shouted when he realised that he had no chance to escape without help. Hana moved beside him, ready to shot if necessary.

Rick leapt towards them, pushing the man off his horse and onto the ground. The man in black rolled with the blow to the floor, knocking his head scarf from its place. He jumped to his feet with skill that rivalled the eldest O'Connell, moving into a fighting stance. Hana couldn't help feeling momentarily stumped, still in place, when she saw the stranger – the man she was meant to be fighting. She didn't know what it was but there was just something about him …

He pulled out a dagger, twisting it in his hands, and he took a step towards her brother. Panicking, Hana took a shot, the bullet glancing off the blade of the dagger. It was knocked out of his hand, thankfully, but she managed to draw attention to her self. He turned his dark eyes towards her (Hana shivered, hairs standing up on the back of her neck) and charged.

She fumbled with her handgun, her eyes darting between the barrel that needed refilling and the large man hurtling towards her. He knocked it out of her hand with a heavy swipe and it slide across the sand, too far for her to reach. He pulled a dagger from his sleeve and swung it at her. She ducked expertly, rolling away. The blade came down again and again, Hana dodging each attack if only barely. For the most part she was on the floor, jumping across the sand to get out of the way of the blows, desperate to find a way to get the upper hand.

Her first thought was to use a second person, Rick, anybody. If someone could attack him from behind, she could escape or, at the very least stand up. But, after seeing Rick preoccupied, knowing Evie nowhere to be seen and Jonathan was hiding incredibly well, she knew she was on her own.

She had to think of something.

Biting her lip, praying that it worked, she dodged the dagger once again before sticking her legs out and tripping the man in black over. He looked surprised for a moment, not expecting her to do such a thing, and landing on the sand, face down. Hana, knowing this was going to be her only chance to escape, made to get away but found it hard to untangle her legs from the mess of limbs that had been created. Seeming to realise this, the man tightened the grip of his legs around her own and reached out a large tattooed hand, grasping her wrist. With a violent tug, he'd pulled the younger O'Connell towards him and rolled them both over until he was towering above her, holding her down with one hand as his other reached for, what was assumed to be, another blade.

Hana struggled against his hold, trying to find a weakness in his grasp, but it only tightened and it became painful to move her wrists at all. _This is it … I'm going to die …_ She blinked back tears that had come to her eyes unwillingly and her limbs twitched trying to find a way of escaping him – survival instincts, she knew. She hadn't even noticed he'd stopped moving, just staring at her in noticeable shock.

The man groaned loudly, releasing his grip on the young woman, as he was hit in the side by the handle of the rifle. He rolled away from the attack, his eyes on the man who was standing above him seeming murderous. Hana scrambled to her feet, moving to stand behind her brother, her form shaking, her eyes stayed on the man who had attacked her, widening when he slowly drew to his feet, sword now in hand, staring deadly at Rick.

"Don't you dare hurt my sister …" he muttered, his eyes narrowed, as he quickly picked up a lit dynamite stick from the fire, not keeping his back turned for long. The man stared at the explosive, as if not quiet believing it, and hesitated.

"Enough! Yallah!" The man commanded, loudly and instantly the men in black obliged to the Arabic. His voice was deep, rough, and unexpectedly attractive, Hana had to admit, "We will shed no more blood, but you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day."

"Why must we leave?" Hana asked quietly in Arabic, the language she spoke to her students in. The stranger looked at her, surprised, clearly not expecting her to be able to speak the language. She straightened up, almost out of pride, and met his gaze however wavering. She was still shaking, scared of what would attack them next, and the threat they had just received did nothing to help that feeling. He turned and climbed onto his horse with one jump. He yelled out a command in Arabic and the black robes obeyed no hesitation. _A leader_ Hana mused. The men pulled out, climbing onto their own horses, following behind their leader. They watched the men in black leave, becoming one with the darkness the further out they got until they could no longer be seen. Rick yanked the burning end off the explosive.

Everything seemed to calm down, a deathly silence as they watched the darkness. Hana glanced around them, noticing that the only people who had any injuries where the hired slave workers. She felt sorry for them. She noticed Burns still had shaving foam on his face and couldn't suppress a giggle, though she knew she should. It was then she saw Evie sprawled out on the ground.

Rick went over and helped her up. "Evelyn? Are you all right?"

They really were a cute couple. Too bad they won't realise it. Hana shivered again as the wind picked up and wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes gazing out into the sea of darkness in front of her. For some reason, she could tell the men in black were still out there, watching them. And that meant _he_ was out there. She rubbed at the goose bumps on her neck. She didn't understand – he'd attacked her, probably would have been her killer if it hadn't been for Rick. She should hate him. She should want him dead, at the very least injured – the same as he'd wanted her.

She should, at least.

"I'm fine." Evie answered.

"You sure?" Rick studied her.

"Yes, thank you," She replied, clutching onto him. It made Hana smile at their little moment, but it had to be interrupted by those damn Americans. They didn't care or didn't notice – it didn't matter what the reason was, they were oafs.

"See? That proves it! Seti's fortune's got to be under this sand," Daniels said.

"For them to protect it like this, you know there's treasure down there." Henderson added in agreement.

"They're desert people. They value water, not gold." Hana answered with expertise, before glancing at them over her shoulder, "You may be out of luck boys."

She didn't get an answer.

"You know, uh, maybe just at night, we could uh, combine forces, hmm?" Burns suggested uneasily. As much as they didn't like it, the American group knew that O'Connell knew more than they did. As much as they didn't like it, O'Connell knew that having the Americans fighting with them meant a better chance of survival.


	9. Chapter 9: Drunks and Conversations

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 9: Drunks and Conversations

It was late after the attack. If it had been dark before, it was even darker now. The only source of light was the blazing fire in the centre of the campsite that everyone was surrounding. Minutes after the attack had ended, a stash of alcohol had been brought out to "calm nerves" the excuse had been. Now, Rick was attempting to teach Evie to fight, which was impossible when considering how much she had drunk. Jonathan was cradling the bottle of Glenlivet against his chest, drifting in and out of slumber. Hana envied him. She wanted nothing more than to sleep but the alcohol in her system just made her acutely aware of what was going on around them.

Subconsciously, the blue orbs drifted towards the opening in the walls that protected Hamunaptra. They stared into the darkness, into the place where she knew they were watching them. Everyone seemed convinced that they had gone, back to wherever they came from, but Hana wasn't so sure. They'd threatened them, had attacked and injured. _"Leave or die. You have one day."_ Why would they just leave? Surely, you'd wait to see if you had to carry out the threat or not. And why attack them? Why, if they were just going to leave afterwards? Something had to be up with this place, with Hamunaptra.

She jumped when a hand dropped to her shoulder, letting out a small "eek!" of surprise. She forced her heart beat to regulate when she saw her brother smiling, amused, down at her.

"Damn it Rick – you scared the life out of me!" she hissed out, not wanting to wake up their companions.

"Sorry." He answered shortly, not sounding sorry at all. He slid into the seat beside her and gave her a one armed hug, which she leant into, thankful for his support. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" she lied.

"You sure? I mean, I know how you feel about death and everything with the Warden. Plus, that big guy attacked you pretty hard ..." Rick trailed off, staring off into the fire.

She rested a hand on his forearm. "I'm fine Rick. Honest. Shaken up, maybe, but apart from that … Thank You for caring, but you don't have to worry about me. I'm a big girl now – I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, I can see that. I saw the way you took down that big guy, even when you didn't have the upper hand. Remind me not to mess with you in the future." They shared a laugh which quickly sobered, "But seriously, I'm your older brother Hana. It's my job to get into trouble, be incredibly paranoid and to be overly protective. I can't change that, if I wanted to, and I never will. And even if you are a 'big girl', remember you can talk to me, okay?"

Hana smiled weakly. "Yeah … I know Rick and I'm glad for it … but sometimes, I just need to work my problems out myself. Understand?"

"Yeah I get it. You've always had to be independent, always had to help." Rick chuckled and hugged his baby sister tighter, kissing her crown, "And I can't help feeling happy about it – even if it does get you into more trouble than I would like you to."

"Hey, most of that is your fault!" Hana objected.

"Oi! Keep it down, would ya?" Daniels' tired voice could be heard from a distance, muffled by the walls of his tent.

The two O'Connell siblings glanced at each other and stifled a laugh, both content in the moments they could share as brother and sister.

* * *

"… _It is written if the victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise, he will bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt …" _

_It shouldn't have been found. The Creature should never rise. Should never again walk the earth. Death and destruction shall follow in his wake. The end of the world … _

"_Amun Ra … Amun Dei …night and day …" _

_Below the sands, the found gains life, gains movement._

_He screams._

"_Death is only the beginning…"_


	10. Chapter 10: HomDai and Reading a Book

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 10: Hom-Dai and Reading a Book

The next morning, the O'Connell team found them selves back below the ground, in the room below the mummy's tomb. It would seem that no one thought that the men in black would live up to their threat, except maybe Jonathan and Hana – though no one was going to listen to them.

Jonathan helped Rick to carry the Sarcophagus from the place it had been left last night, to rest up against the walls of the cavern. Evie buzzed around them excitedly, a huge grin on her face and disbelief in her eyes. Hana stood back and watched silent, making sure she was as far away from the place where the Warden had died as possible. For some reason, standing by the mummified body of someone who'd been dead for over three thousand years was a lot more appealing than standing by the place a man had died barely a day ago.

"Oh, I've dreamed about this since I was a little girl." Evie said, taking out the key.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you have problems as a child Evie?" Hana added jokily.

"Oh look, his sacred spells have been chiselled off." Evie continued, running her hands over the middle of the sarcophagus, ignoring what the O'Connell's had said, "This man must have been condemned not only in this life, but in the next."

"Tough break," Rick commented.

"Yes, I'm all tears." Jonathan added as he twisted the key he had snaked back off his sister. "Now, let's see whose inside, shall we?"

Evie jumped excitedly on the balls of her feet and even Hana got closer, curious as to what they would fine, as Jonathan and Rick pulled the lid from the grave. Evie screamed and Hana jumped, her voice caught in her throat, as the mummy's corpse threw itself towards them.

"Oh, my god, I hate it when they do that," she said flustered.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick asked unsurely, tilting his head to the side. Hana inclined her head too, her eyes narrowing on the corpse before them. There was something off about it …

"No, I've never seen a mummy look like that before. He's still …" She searched for the right word.

"Juicy," Hana, Jonathan and Rick supplied together.

"Yes," Evie agreed, "H-he must be more than 3000 years old...and, well, it looks as if he's still...decomposing."

"Hey, look at that," Rick said, pointing to the sarcophagus' lid. "What do you make of this?"

Hana edged to her brother's side and gazed at the marks that marred the lid. Gently, she ran her fingers across the four lines that were copied, again and again, across the preserved wood. Strange, they reminded her of …. Her eyes wide, she snapped her hand back against herself, not truly believing it.

"What? What is it?" Rick asked concerned.

"There … There fingernails." She whispered, "He was buried alive."

"And he left a message." Evie added, running her own fingertips over the hieroglyphs that had been scratched there, "_'Death is only the beginning…_'"

* * *

Later that evening, everyone had retired to their camps, sitting around the fire. Rick and Jonathan sat on the make-shift chairs, mumbling among themselves about something or other, while Hana sat on the sand, at their feet, her legs curled up to her chest, deep in thought. She thought back to the mummy they had found, thought back to the marks on the inside of the sarcophagus.

He'd been buried alive, that much was certain. No other reason for the nail marks in the lid. She couldn't help thinking how much pain he must have been in, to have the ability to scratch into the wood; to feel the need to scratch into something as hard as wood. It must have broken his nails, ripped parts of his skin off, yet he still continued to indent. What had he done? What could be so bad that he had been buried alive?

Then there were the hieroglyphs, the words "Death is only the beginning". She'd heard those words before, she was almost certain of it. A voice in her head kept repeating the words, over and over again, but she didn't recognise the voice. But she couldn't have heard it, could she? It was written on the lid of a sarcophagus that had been discovered until the day, and written in a language she couldn't even read, let alone speak. She had no idea how she could have heard it and it was really starting to irate.

She snapped out of her thoughts when the Americans (and Beni, but she didn't really include him as a distraction – more like a worm) joined them.

"Say, O'Connell, how much to you bet these babies will fetch back home?" Henderson asked, shaking a jar at him. It was an organ jar, the clay pots that they would put vital organs in and bury with the body. They believed they would be needed in the after life. Vaguely, Hana wondered whether they were the bodily organs of their mummy.

"We heard you lot found yourselves a nice, gooey mummy. Well, congratulations!" Daniels said sarcastically, joining his buddy.

"If you dry that fella out, you might be able to sell him as firewood." Burns suggested and the three Americans laughed. Rick made a face.

"Not everything's about money boys." Hana told them with a mockingly sweet smile.

Before they could answer, Evie could be heard running towards them, calling out, "Look what I found."

"You're in her seat," Rick said, turning to Beni. He laughed a little. "Now!" Rick added sharply when he didn't move.

"Right," Beni said, quickly moving from the seat to sit beside his American brethren, his head bowed towards the fire. Hana smirked, amused, before turning her attention to her closest female friend, who were poking at something she had settled in the palm of her hand.

"Scarab skeletons," Evie said, showing them to us, "Flesh eaters. I found them inside our friend's coffin." Both Rick and Jonathan picked one up each and studied it intently. Hana decided she'd rather not. "They can stay alive for years, feasting on the flesh of a corpse." A communal shudder swept across them. "Unfortunately for our friend, he was alive when they started eating him."

"So somebody threw these in with our guy, and then they ate alive?" Hana summarized, clutching her legs tighter. _That would explain the scratch marks …_

"Very slowly," Evie said a grim look on her face at the thought.

"Well, he certainly wasn't a popular fellow when they planted him, was he?" Jonathan commented, stating the bloody obvious.

"Well, he probably got a little too frisky with the Pharaoh's daughter," Rick said, smiling slightly down at Evie.

Evie smiled a little, pink dusting her cheeks. She cleared her throat before she continued: "Well, according to my readings ...our friend suffered the Hom-Dai, the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses...one reserved only for the most evil of blasphemers. Well, in my research, I've never heard of this curse having actually been performed."

"That bad, huh?" Daniels questioned. The uneasiness showed on the Americans faces.

"Yes, well they never used it because they feared it so." She answered him, her eyes dropping back to the flesh eating beetles in her hand, "It's written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise...he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

* * *

Hana shifted in her dozy state as Evie stepped over her, nearly standing on her in her excitement. Rubbing her eyes and suppressing a yawn, she sat up and watched her female friend, confused. Evie was sat on the makeshift bench, peering down at a huge black book, thick, and adorned with hieroglyphs that she couldn't read.

Rick, who was sitting across from both women, gave her an amusement, oddly proud, look. "That's called 'stealing' you know."

"According to you and my brother, it's called 'borrowing'." She quipped back, smiling widely as she dug through Jonathan's bag to get to the star-shaped key that had been increasingly important as they moved around Hamunaptra.

"What is it Evie?" Hana suppressed another yawn, "The Book of Amun-Ra? I thought that was made out of gold …"

"It is made out of gold. This isn't the Book of Amun-Ra. This is something else." She opened the key and gently laid it into the lock, "I think it's the Book of the Dead."

"Sounds charming," Hana answered dryly.

"Are you sure you want to be playing around with that thing?" Rick asked her, seeming nervous. Evie ignored both of them and opened the book. The wind picked up and howled. Fearfully, Hana wrapped her sheet tighter around her and shifted, on her butt, closer to her brother and his weapon's bag. _That happens a lot around here …_

"It's just a book. No harm ever came from reading a book." She finally answered her hands and eyes scanning the engraved pages of the book. Her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration and she tried to make sense of all the pictures.

"So what's it say?" Rick asked aloud, leaning over her shoulder interested even though they all knew he didn't understand what was in front of him.

"Amun Ra. Amun Dei," Evie read aloud and Hana froze her eyes wide. She heard that before. She'd dreamed it, hadn't she? She'd thought it was just the atmosphere of Hamunaptra playing tricked with her imagination but, now, she wasn't so sure.

"Night and Day …" she whispered to herself.

Evie nodded at her, impressed that she understood what she had said before she continued to read in Ancient Egyptian. Hana felt her self shaking; tears of fear filled her eyes. She blinked to keep them at bay.

"Noooo!" The Egyptologist shouted in a panic from the other side of the camp (the American side), his hand thrust out in front of him. Hana stood up straight, her grip tightening on the sheet surrounding her at the look of fear on his face, "You must not read from the book!"

The wind picked up, became more violent, more deadly. Something was coming. Something huge.

And Evie had caused it.


	11. Chapter 11: A Walking, Talking Mummy

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 11: A Walking, Talking Mummy

The floor rumbled beneath them, shaking everything on its foundations. It was so sudden, so violent that it brought the Americans tumbling out of their beds, guns drawn. Hana shot upward and stared out into the darkness, dropping her sheet from her around her. She kicked Jonathan in the arm, hard, to wake him up, ignoring his spluttering. Something caught her eye. In the darkness, something was moving. When the clicking sound got louder, got closer, everyone knew exactly what was coming – bugs, lots and lots of bugs.

"Run!" Rick had to shout the order. No one needed to be told twice. They all turned on their heels and run away from the noise, towards the main city of Hamunaptra. Rick had grabbed Evie's hand to make her move faster, knowing that she wasn't used to running from danger; in his other hand, he held his rifle. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw his baby sister fumbling with her handgun before she grabbed the sleeve of Jonathan's coat and stopped him for lagging behind. A sense of relief passed across him, knowing that his sister could take care of herself.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Jonathan shouted over the commotion of diggers getting attacked by the black bugs. The Americans had managed to catch up by this point.

"I ain't waitin' around to find out!" Daniels answered as he sped past, terrified.

The tunnel was dark, narrow, and they were running around in a panic. No one had realised that they were missing one person …

The O'Connell's rounded a corner and stopped, stumbling as the ground shook beneath them just as it had outside. A mound rose from beneath the sand. It kept growing until the top burst and black scarab beetles, much like the ones that Evie found in the sarcophagus, swarmed from the hole, heading straight towards us.

"Scarabs!" Evie yelled and everyone turned and ran.

An exit out of the tunnels of Hamunaptra was found and the group separated as Rick and Jonathan leapt to one side and Evie and Hana scrambled to climb onto a rocky mount, pressing against the cliff wall as far as they could. They let out a breath of relief as the scarabs ignored them, scuttling past them. The feeling didn't last long when both women found themselves falling through the rock they were leaning against. They landed on sand, a cry caught in their throats, and scrambling to their feet.

"Where are we now?" Evie asked.

Hana glanced upward. "Back in the Tunnels, it seems."

"Well, how do we get out?" Evie asked, turning to pat at the way they had come in, searching for a switch, anything, "This ways blocked."

"Back through the tunnels, I suppose." Hana answered uncertainly, turning to search the door as if offering the second option on the matter. She didn't notice that Evie had removed her self from the wall and had taken a step deeper into the tunnel until she heard her low gasp.

"What? What is it?" she asked panicked, instantly moving to her side, raising her gun. She relaxed slightly when she saw the familiar frame of Burns curled on the floor but tensed when she heard his almost sobbed moans.

"Burns?" Hana took a step forward, "Are you okay? We need to get out of here. Do you know the way out?"

The sobbing noise continued and it made Hana want to cry with him. He sounded so scared, so alone, so much like her school children that she wanted to move to his side and cradle him until the crying stopped but now was not the time to give into her instincts. She took another step closer, hesitantly, her gun raising slightly. Evie gave a squeak of panic and surprise and took a step back. Hana spun around at the noise and her hands shook, a scream lodged in her throat, at the sight of a rotten mummy standing, like a huge barrier, between her self and Evie. She stumbled back, her eyes wide but the walking corpse didn't seem to notice her, staring intently at the poor English woman. He took a step closer to her.

Evie glanced at Hana and Burns over her shoulder, seeming surprisingly calm in her current position. That is, until she spoke: "Please ... please help me ..."

Hana didn't know what to do. She should help Evie, she knew she should – she was her friend after all but ... she glanced towards Burns shaking body. Something must have happened to him and, if she helped Evie, what would become of him? Her eyes showed her inner turmoil.

"Help me," she said again, this time with more panic in her voice. It was then that both of them saw the horror that had been inflicted on Burns. He swung his head towards them and both gasped in utter disgust and fear when they saw the empty spaces that were meant to be his eye sockets. He moaned at them, sounding pleading and scared, but neither of them could understand what he was saying.

Immediately it was clear what else had been stolen.

Hana took in a shaky breath and suppressed the urge to be sick at the sight before rushing to his side, dropping on her knees. At this moment, he needed her more. She rested her hand on his own and hushed him gently, as if speaking to a child, before she turned her eyes to Evie, keeping them trained. The girls eyes darted between the corpse and her old friend. Hana would have felt relieved to see the understanding in her eyes if it hadn't been mixed with the fear she feeling at the idea of falling victim to what Burns had suffered. She tensed, her eyes remaining on Evie as the Mummy moved in on the poor librarian, his head tilted. He pulled up short and said something in Ancient Egyptian that neither of them understood, making Evie recoil away from him and the breath that was sure to smell of decay and death.

At the sound of his voice, Burns tried to crawl away, his hands grasping at the sand beneath their feet as he tried to get as far away from the ancient corpse as possible. Not wanting to leave him alone, Hana followed him slowly, staying close, her eyes glancing between his terrified form and her closest friend. It was when Rick appeared at Evie's side that Hana saw her chance to move. She helped Burns to his feet, speaking in hushed tones to warn him where they were going (and not attract the attention of the mummy) and led him out of the cavern. They were out of sight by the time Rick had roared at the corpse and fired his gun.

* * *

Rick dragged Evie behind him, Jonathan following them, as they moved as far away from the walking corpse as they could get, darting from left to right, from tunnel to tunnel. His adrenaline was pumping, coursing through his veins and increasing his heart rate. His breath laboured and he was mentally prepared a means of escape. He'd got it (he refused to call it a 'mummy') with a bullet, he was sure, but he wasn't entirely sure whether he could trust that the creep had been stopped. After all, if it was the mummy (and that's only if) that shouldn't be possible. Mummies that are over three thousand years old don't suddenly start moving about again – it was impossible ... wasn't it? Either way he wanted to be prepared. Plus, he had a completely different problem on his hands besides just needed to escape a mummy that may or may not still be after them.

Hana was missing. His baby sister. Both her and Evie had disappeared at the same time yet he'd only managed to find one of them. He was worried. What if the mummy found her and killed her? What if she was hurt and alone somewhere? He'd always promised to protect her (even from him self when the matter called for it) and now, at the worst time ever, in the worst place, she was gone.

Seeing a space in a wall where they could he hidden, he decided to investigate. Spinning around he shoved Evie into the gap, much to her surprise and panic, and blocked her exits by holding his arms up on their side, leaning in closer to her. Ignoring Jonathan's cries of "What the hell are you doing O'Connell?", Rick asked the question that cared about most at the moment: "Where's my sister?"

"Hana? She ... she was helping Burns. He .. god, his eyes ... he was hurt and she helped him escape ... I don't know where they went ..." Evie managed to get out despite her over loaded emotions and clouded brain.

"But she's safe? She was fine the last time you saw her?" He asked her, already debating turning around and searching for his sister. Evie seemed to sense what he was trying to do and rested a hand on his cheek. His eyes dropped back to hers.

"O'Connell ... Rick. Your sister is strong and brave and smart. She can handle her self and, if she really is helping Burns, the first thing she'd do is search for an exit. She knows what to do." Evie explained softly.

Rick softened. "Yeah ... your right ..."

There was a moments silence before Jonathan sighed. "That's all very well and good. Hana's going to be safe – that's brilliant – but what about us? You shot a mummy and, common sense would say: run, so can we get back to that now?"

Rick nodded. "Right."

Grasping Evie hand again, the three set off again in search for a way out.

* * *

Hana grunted quietly under the weight of the American man but didn't complain. She just whispered softly under her breath, still hoping she could calm him down so he could at least help himself, as she gently led him along the narrow, sandy floored tunnels. It wasn't working. It was almost as if he didn't hear her over his own mumblings of pain. Hana couldn't fault him though.

His legs shook under his body and most of his mass was upon her, which was finding increasingly difficult to handle. What made it worse was that she couldn't seem to find a way out of the endless turns and halls, everything just dark. _There must be a way out, there's always a way out of these things ..._ Hana encouraged her self and prodded on. Silently, she hoped that was what the others were doing. She hoped that Rick, Evie, Jonathan and even the other Americans had gotten out of Hamunaptra and that none of them had suffered what poor Burns had – or currently was.

She turned yet another corner and her heart leapt into her throat with relief when she saw light spilling from a door in the wall across from her. She'd done it. Found a way out. She stood up straight and moved faster.

"Don't worry Burns – we're nearly out of here," she whispered though she knew he didn't hear her. The walk seemed to take forever, the tunnel longer in distance than she had first suspected, but when she crossed over the threshold into the light, she couldn't help smiling -

- until she saw all the weapons that were directed towards her. She pulled up short, her eyes wide, and her grip on Burns' waist tightened. Standing before her, all in a straight line, were the men in black. The men that had attacked them the night before. They stood, fearless and terrifying, in a line, their knifes drawn and guns raised. A voice from behind barked an order, an order to stand down, and they lowered the weapons. Hana let out a low breath – she knew that voice. She doubted she'd ever forget it. Through the centre of the men right in front of her, a huge towering figure broke through to stand in front of her. He stared at her for a moment before his eyes drifted to Burns. Though he tried to stay solemn, the sympathy in his brown eyes was clear.

"Someone deal with his wounds." he ordered strongly. Two men broke through the line and surprisingly gently removed Burns from her grasp, leading away. Hana watched him go anxiously.

"He will be cared for well. I assure you."

The O'Connell turned to the leader of the men, searching for any insincerity. Finding none, she relaxed slightly. She let out a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down. She didn't know these men, she knew that, and they had attacked her the day before but she felt as if she could trust them. That they weren't out there to hurt any of them.

"Thank you ..." she whispered, "for helping him ..."

He stood up straighter, ignoring her words. "Are you alright? Did the Creature attack you?"

"Ah ... no, no he didn't attack me. I'm fine ... physically at least." Hana ran a hand through her hair before holding out her hand, "I'm Hana O'Connell."

The man seemed momentarily surprised. He accepted her hand lightly, uncertainly. His hand was large compared to her own smaller one, and warm. The sudden and unexpectedness of the feeling made her shiver. "I am Ardeth Bay, the chieftain of the Medjai."

"It's nice to meet you." She replied politely, "Now tell me, please: what's going on?"

"The Creature is on the loose. He is the one who attacked your friend." Ardeth began to explain. He paused, glancing down at their enjoined hands and slowly brought his own back his side. Hana dropped her own instantly, trying to ignore the tingling feeling along her skin, needing to know what was going on around her. "The Creature is the monster we, the Medjai, have guarded for centuries, to make sure he remains undisturbed, and you have brought him back. Now, we have to put him back where he came from before he brings forth -"

"- the ten plagues of Egypt, right?" Hana finished for him with a sigh, rubbing her forehead, "Damn you Evie, why did you have to be so curious about this place?"

Footsteps were heard going closer to where they were standing. Hana tensed expectingly and the Medjai got into a fighting stance. Ardeth stepped in front of her, one hand on the handle of the sword, the other grasping her upper arm to keep her still. She visible relax when the caused of the footsteps were seen.

"Rick!" Hana cried in relief, glad her brother was safe.

"Hana, are you okay?" Rick exclaimed, worried, before turning to glare at Ardeth, "Let go of her you bastard!"

"I told you to leave or die. You refused. Now you may have killed us all ..." Ardeth answered, seeming to ignore Rick comment as his hand remained in place. His eyes moved slowly between the two O'Connell siblings, "You have unleashed the Creature we have feared for more than three thousand years."

Hana stared at him. Three thousand years? In the matter of days, one person had destroyed _three thousand years_ of work that the Medjai have done to protect us all from our certain doom. She actually felt disappointed in herself. That was the only thing that over road her surprise. This man before her should have killed her, kept true to his threat. Even Hana had to admit, if she was them and had seen what they done, what they had caused, she probably would have killed them too. But he hadn't done anything to hurt her so far. In fact, he'd tended to a fallen comrade and had tried to protect her when they thought that the 'Creature' was heading their way. It seemed he was still trying to protect her now as his grip on her arm hadn't laxed nor been removed. Strangely, Hana didn't find the touch ... bad ...

"Relax, I got him ..." Rick answered cockily, still glaring at the tall Medjai. _He's probably still annoyed that I'm over here when he's over there_, Hana mused but didn't moved to change it, though she knew she should.

"No mortal weapon can kill this Creature. He's not of this world." Ardeth replied, angry at the arrogance of the American in front of him. It was obvious he didn't understand the gravity of the situation that _they_ had put the entire planet in. He couldn't quiet believe that, that man was in any way related to the fierce, yet gentle, woman beside him. Hana watched the Medjai leader closely. When he was angry, his accent deepened, became more pronounced. It scared her when she found herself admitting: _I like it_.

A familiar moaning sound caught her ears and she turned to watch the same men as before bring Burns forward, leaving at the knees of his American brethren. They looked aghast, terrified even, and angry.

"You bastards." Daniels hissed.

"What have you done to him?" Henderson demanded.

"Miss Hana saved him. Saved him before the Creature could finish the job. We only tended to his wounds." Ardeth replied, glaring down at them. It was only then that he released her arm and moved away from her, leaving that tingled feeling behind again. "Leave, all of you, quickly, before he finishes you all."

"Thank you ... Ardeth ..." Hana whispered, her eyes on Burns who was a whole lot better than the last time she had seen him, "... and thank you to your men ..."

The chieftain turned towards her and considered her curiously. Hana went pink under the intense stare she could feel on the back of her neck but she kept her eyes on the now slump form of Burns. When she finally met his gaze, he inclined his head as if to say "Your welcome" before he nodded strongly to his men.

"Yallah. Nimishi." He ordered again and the men lowered their weapons on command, "We must now go on the hunt and try to find a way to kill him."

"I already told you, I got him." Rick repeated furiously as the taller man marched pass. He stopped and the two men stared each other down, something passing between both men that no woman could understand. It was purely for male understanding.

"Know this." Ardeth warned quietly, his eyes never leaving Rick's, "This creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat. He will near sleep, and he will near _stop_."


	12. Chapter 12: Trouble and Understanding

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 12: Trouble and Trying to Understand

Hana sat curled against the window pane, just staring out into Cairo, silent. After Ardeth and the Medjai had left them in Hamunaptra, everyone had high tailed it out of the City of the Dead. It seemed everyone thought that if they got out of the Lost City that they were safe – even Rick seemed to think so. But Hana wasn't so sure. Ardeth had said that the whole world was under threat – why would that change just because they were back in Cairo? In fact, it could make it worse. Evie seemed to think that it was there responsibility to help put the mummy back in his grave and that's what the current argument was about. Rick was trying to pack her bag, get her to leave with him and Americans, but she was having none of it, saying we had to stay and fight.

"I thought you said that you didn't believe in fairytale." Rick retorted before shooing Evie's cat, Cleo, off the top of her trunk. Cleo hissed in objection and jumped into the space beside Hana's feet annoyed. She smiled slightly and stroked the white fur. _Don't worry Cleo; you're not the only one that Rick annoys..._

"Well, having an encounter with a three thousand year old walking, talking corpse does tend to convert one," She threw a bundle of her clothes out of the open trunk, which Rick promptly replaced.

"Forget it. We're out the door, down the hall, and we're gone." Rick ordered.

"Oh no, we're not."

"Oh yes we are."

"Oh no, we're not. We woke him up and we are going to stop him."

"'We'? What we? We didn't read that book. I told you not to mess around with that thing. Didn't I tell you not to play around with that thing?"

"Yes, fine then, me, me, me, I, I, I. I woke him up and I intend to stop him."

"Oh yeah, how? You heard the man – no mortal weapons can kill this guy."

"Oh well, then we are just going to have to find some _immortal_ ones."

"There goes that 'we' again."

"Will you listen to me? We have to do -" Evie slammed the lid of the suitcase down, stopping Rick from putting any more of her clothes away, accidentally catching his fingers between the two halves. He cried out and retched his arms back, but Evie didn't seem to notice too wrapped up in her own thoughts. "Once this creature has been reborn, his curse is going to spread until the whole of the Earth is destroyed."

"Yes, is that my problem?"

"Well, it's everybody's problem."

"She does have a point there Rick." Hana pointed out.

"You stay out of this." Rick snapped before turning his attention back to Evie, "Evelyn, I appreciate you saving my life and all, but when I signed on ... I agreed to take you out there and to bring you back. And I've done that. End of job, end of story, contact terminated."

"Is that all I am to you? A contact?" Evie questioned sounding hurt.

"And that would be my cue to leave..." Hana whispered to her self, standing up and leaving Evie's room before anything else happened. She really didn't want to see her brother crash and burn because he's an idiot when he's angry. She wandered through the long corridors, humming to herself and she wondered what they would do. And mostly, why the hell she knew that the exact incarnation to bring the mummy to life, even though no one has seen – let alone read – the book of the Dead in over three thousand years. It was impossible for her to know the words, know the meaning, but she did. She just didn't know why. It was like she was remembering something from years ago, from some distant time – it made her head hurt to think about it.

"Hana, old girl! Care to join me?" Jonathan's slightly tipsy voice broke through her thoughts and she turned towards him, smiling. He was leaning against the bar, a whiskey shot in his hands, and a goofy smile on his face. She moved to join him, sliding onto the stool beside him.

"Hey Jonathan ..."

His eyebrows came together in a type of drunken concern. "What's the matter? You seem troubled."

"No, I'm just ... have you ever known something but have no idea how you know it?" Hana questioned, biting her bottom lip.

"What? Like waking up with a splitting hangover and a blond in your bed?" He replied, cocking his head.

"Uh, no. Not like that. I mean like, someone has told you something from ages ago but you can't remember who said it or why."

Jonathan was silent for a moment, thoughtful. "No, old girl. I can't say I have. What of it?"

Hana sighed. "Don't worry, Jonathan. It's nothing."

"No, come on. It must be something if it's worrying you so much. Now, sit and tell me old Jon what's going on. Is it about Hamunaptra?" Jonathan's voice dropped to a whisper at the mention of the City of the Dead.

She hesitated. "Um, yeah ... something like that. Look, while we were in Hamunaptra, I knew what Evie was going to say when she read from the Book of the Dead – I knew what it meant ... but I don't know how ... a-and then when we were on the barge, the fire ... it was so familiar but I can't figure out from where. I just ... I'm so confused ..."

Jonathan looked like he wanted to say something but he didn't know how to respond. Hana couldn't blame him. What she was trying to say did seem impossible, even to her and she was experiencing it. She shook her head and stole his shot of whiskey, knocking it back quickly (ignoring Jonathan's objections) and stood up abruptly.

"Don't worry about it Jonathan. If anyone asks, I've gone to check on Burns." She told him firmly, slowly so that it was absorbed into his alcoholic state. With that turn on her heel and left the bar, heading up the stairs, skirting past Evie's room, and entered the Americans.

* * *

Evie left her room, an Egyptian textbook in her hands. She read rapidly, taking in every piece of information she could, searching for a way to destroy this mummy. _The one that I brought about_, she reminded her self sourly. Although she hated to admit it, she should have listened to O'Connell ... to Rick. He warned her and what was her answer: "No harm ever came from reading a book" - guess that showed her. This was all her fault and she'd find a way to help – with or without the help of Rick O'Connell. She gasped as a hand grabbed her upper arm roughly, pulling her forwards.

"We got trouble." Rick told her firmly, just as thunder rumbled and it started to rain fireballs. The librarian gasped in horror as the people around her ran, screaming when they were hit. It was a horrific sight. He led her along an open hallway, moving at a fast pace. She had to admit that it was probably was a good thing – if she had the time, she'd still be staring at the act of violence that was going on around her. Someone ahead of them – _Beni_, Evie recalled his name – ran down the stairs before squeaking and trying to run away. Rick saw him and it was only then that he let go of Evie to chase after him. He pushed him firmly against the wall, looking ferocious.

"Beni, you little stinkweed, where'd you been?"

Fortunately for Beni, he didn't have to answer. A roar from above shocked Rick and Evie, giving him a chance to make a break for it. Grabbing Evie's hand, they ran up the stairs and along the corridor, following the noise. Finding the room the noise was coming from, Rick kicked open the door, his gun drawn.

His grip slacked at what he saw.

* * *

Hana hummed to herself as she walked down the corridor of the upper floor of the hotel. Recently leaving Jonathan, the alcohol in her system was making her mellow out and stop worrying about something she couldn't understand. If she was meant to know the reason behind her knowledge, she would find out soon enough … _won't I? _

Shaking her head to clear negative thoughts, she stopped at the room in which the Americans were saying and listened in.

Silence greeted her.

Burns is probably sleeping she told her self as she felt panic rising within her. After all, there wasn't much else he could do. She felt sorry for him about that. That was probably why she was up there, preparing her self to enter his room, because he was alone and most likely wanted the company.

Gently, she pushed open the door poking her head around the door and gasped in horror, her stomach churning with queasiness. She watched, her eyes wide, as the cloaked figure spread his arms and dragged the life away from a crying Burns right before her eyes.

She cried out, dropping to her knees, and clutching her head as light burst behind her eyes causing pain to shot through her. She clenched her eyes as tightly as she could, willing the immense pain away.

* * *

_She woke up with a gasp, throwing her self forward out of her bed. She'd seen it, seen what the Pharaoh had wanted her to see. God, she hoped it wasn't too late. Her feet bare and her body barely clothed, she rushed to her door, knocking into the back of the Medjai that was standing guard outside her room. _

_At the impact, he tensed and turned, ready to fight. His eyebrows raised in surprise, transforming into seriousness when he saw the look on the Oracles face. She clutched his shoulders tightly, her blue eyes wide._

"_Medjai! Please, warn the King! He must know!" She ordered the man, tears filling her eyes as she remembered the pain she had envisioned._

_The Medjai shouted something to the men standing further out of the building, who rushed into action. The man turned and grasped the shoulders of the Oracle to regain her attention, "What is happening Oracle? You must tell us! What must the King know?"_

_She looked up at the strong man with tearful eyes and whispered, "That his end is coming …"

* * *

_

Hana was curled up in the far corner of the room, her knees clutched to her chest, her head down, the now decomposed body of Burns lying at her feet. She wasn't staring at him but it was almost as if she was trying to make sure that she didn't. She hadn't even noticed anyone else walking into the room.

Rick panicked when he saw his baby sister coiled around herself, deadly still and so out of character, and instantly raised his gun, shooting furiously at the creature in front of him. The mummy recoiled from the bullet and roared in annoyance before raising his hands, throwing Rick into Henderson, Daniels and Jonathan (how had just run into the room) by a seemingly invisible force. They crashed to the ground.

They scrambled to their feet, guns drawn, as the mummy closed in on Evie, almost as if he was trying to … kiss her? He whispered something in Ancient Egyptian. The sound of broken chords drew everyone's attention to the piano. Cleo was stepping on each key, approaching the undead man, hissing and snarling at him. The mummy roared in terror, turned into sand and escaped out of the window in a storm. It swung shut behind him.

There was a moments silence before Rick threw his gun to the side, rushing towards his sister and gently moved her away from the dead body, carrying her in his arms. She didn't react to being moved, just sat their silently.

"It's okay Hana … you're safe now – he's not going to hurt you." He whispered under his breath. She didn't react, just blinked her glazed eyes. Rick was worried – what the hell was wrong with her? What did that monster do to her to affect her so much? Glancing over at Burns' deformed body; he wondered whether she had seen what had happened to him.

"We should go to the museum." Evie told the room quietly, her eyes on the form of her eerily still friend, "The curator would know what to do about the mummy and what's wrong with Hana."

Rick nodded once in agreement. Right now, he was ready to do anything to get his sister back to normal. "Don't worry Hana; we're going to get you help."

"_Ōrāculum …_"


	13. Chapter 13: The Curator and That Man!

Oracle's Vision: The Mummy

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

* * *

Chapter 13: The Curator and _That_ Man Again!

_The Oracle twisted her hands together as she sat on the edge of her bed. She been ordered to remain in her quarters by the Medjai and, to make sure she didn't try to leave, they locked her in. She felt so helpless. She couldn't do anything except hope and pray that the pain she had dreamt wasn't going to happen. _

_She jumped out of her seat when she heard the door open and she dashed to the side of the familiar Medjai, her hands gripping the holsters for his weapons. "Please tell me Medjai – is the Pharaoh safe?"_

_He became one with the darkness, slipping into the empty room, his eyes set on the only inhabitancy. The man before him was a fool to think that mere gun training would protect him. His fate was set in stone the moment he opened that chest and removed what was inside._

_The Medjai's eyes showed sorrow and failure. He didn't need to answer the question. The Oracle choked on a sob and would have snuck to her knees if the guard hadn't been there to catch her. She sobbed into his bare chest, her nails piercing his skin. She cried for the Pharaoh. She cried for his daughter. She cried for the pain they had, and would, suffer. _

_With a whoosh, he was known to his prey. The man gasped tried to get away, fired a full load of bullets into his chest. It stung for a moment but he laughed it off. Nothing could stop him - not now. With a swipe of his hand, the sand swarmed and took precious life._

"_Who did this Oracle?" the Medjai demanded, though his tone soft. He had never seen the powerful woman so sad. It pained him to see, but he needed to know. Needed to avenge the death if not for the Pharaoh and his family, for her, who had seen and suffered it all._

_She struggled to calm himself down. She stared up at the man with tearful eyes. Such wide, strange eyes. Blue, like the waters that ran through her temple. Her voice was rasped as she spoke. _

"_Imhotep …"_

_His lifeless body crashed to__ the floor, still clutching his weapon and bend out of shape. He hadn't seen it coming. The Creature smiled and stepped over the body as if it was nothing – and it was, compared to what had been done to him. Bending down he picked up the ceramic jar that had been dropped, cradling it gently. In it, lies one more part of his beloved. He was getting ever closer to his true goal. _

"_Help me Medjai. Help me forget." The Oracle pleaded from her place across from him. That day, the murderer had been given the Hom-Dai on his orders, and he had been to inform her. He had not expected this to be his thank you. _

"_I cannot Oracle. It is wrong to take advantage of someone in your state." He continued to deny though he hadn't left the room to escape the temptation._

"_It is not 'taking advantage' when that someone offers themselves to you." The Oracle insisted, getting closer, "You are a Medjai, no? You protect the palace and all in it? Then protect me. My vision, the memory of death, is so much worse than any enemy of the King."_

_When her robe flittered to the floor, the silk acting like a leaf caught in the wind, the Medjai no longer had any choice in the matter._

'_Do not worry Anuk-su-Namun … I will fulfil the promise I made … My beloved Anuk-su-Namun, they all will pay for what was done to us …'_

* * *

They rushed from the apartment block to the museum at an amazing speed, thanks to Rick's reckless driving, though no one could blame him. Ever since Burns' death, the one that Hana had witness, she'd been silent, staring off into space, no responding to anything anyone said to her. It was as if she couldn't hear nor recognise them.

Rick was panicking. He just wanted his sister back to normal – and to make sure that it didn't happen again. When they reached the museum, she was more responsive – she blinked at them when they spoke. It wasn't much but whatever had gripped her must be losing strength, she seemed closer to reality than her own mind. He led the group, moving with long legs ahead of them, cradling his sister in his arms, one hand holding the hilt of his handgun. He was barely listening to Evie's directions as he moved, let alone the conversation that Jonathan was having. He rounded a corner and pulled up short at what he saw.

"You!" Evie yelled out in a mixture of surprise and anger. Instantly, guns were raised, pointed directly at the Curator and his companion: the man in black that led the group that attacked them; the one Hana called Ardeth. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"Miss Carnahan. Gentlemen." The Curator greeted, his eyes slipping to the face of Hana, who was blinking blankly up at them, "And what is wrong with this one?"

"We don't know. We were hoping you could tell us." Rick answered tensely, the gun never flattering in his hand.

"Do you really want to know, or would you prefer to … just shoot us?" The Curator retorted, his eyes darting between the drawn guns and the man who stood behind him.

There was a moment of hesitation before the weapons slowly lowered.

"After what I just saw, I'm willing to go on a little faith here." Rick answered, sliding his guns back into their holsters. The others soon followed his example.

"We are part of a secret, ancient society. For other 3,000 years we have guarded over the City of the Dead. We are sworn at manhood to so any and all in our power to stop the High Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world –"the Curator began.

"- And now because of you, we have failed." Ardeth finished.

"And you think that justifies killing innocent people?" Evie demanded an answer.

"To stop this Creature? Let me think …" The Curator answered.

"Yes!" Both the Curator and Ardeth stated together, loudly.

"Question: Why doesn't he like cats?" Jonathan asked curiously from behind a statue.

"Well, cats are the guardians of the Underworld." The Curator explained simply, "He will fear them until he is fully regenerated."

"And then he will fear nothing." The man in black finished.

"Yeah, and you know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Daniels said in a panicked tone.

"By killing everybody that opened that chest," Henderson answered, twirling on of the jars in his hands.

"And suckin' them dry, that's how!" he cut across.

"Jonathan, would you stop playing with that?" Evie asked loudly, causing her brother to panic and nearly knock the statue over, "W-when I saw him alive in Hamunaptra, he called me … Anuk-su-Namun." She fumbled over the name and caught the look at Ardeth and the Curator shared, "And then, just now, in Mr. Burns' quarters, he … he tried to kiss me …"

"It's because of his love for Anuk-su-Namun that he was cursed." The Curator explained, "Apparently, even after 3, 000 years –"

"He still loves her." The man in black finished.

"Yes, well, that's very romantic … but, what has that got to do with me?" Evie asked.

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise her from the dead." Ardeth suggested.

The Curator agreed. "Yes. And it appears he has already chosen his human sacrifice." They both turned and looked at Evie, who looked both shocked and scared in return.

"Bad luck, old mum." Jonathan commented.

"I have a question," Rick interrupted furiously, "what the hell is wrong with my sister."

The Curator and the man in black shared a look (something they were doing a lot). Ardeth swept towards the O'Connell siblings, kneeling beside them. Rick and he locked gazes before Rick relented and allowed the man to check over his baby sister. Any other situation, he would have cut his hands off for touching his sister but, right now, he just needed to know what was wrong with her.

Ardeth had a look on concentration on his stern face as his hands examined the younger woman. She stared at him, emotionless, blinking wildly, as his hands brushed against her cheeks, analysing her eyes and responses. He tapped her left cheek lightly, then her right cheek – she turned her head in the direction of the pressure. Reaching downward, he grasped her hands, felt them shake in his own.

"She has retreated into her self." He explained quietly, focussed on what he was doing, "Something must have overwhelmed her, something she couldn't handle on her own. She will be fine. Has she said anything?"

"No, at least, I don't think so." Rick said, shaking his head.

"Yeah … she did." Henderson spoke, swallowing when everyone's attention turned to him, "She said … Oraculumor something like that …"

The Curator's eyes widened and Ardeth looked shocked.

Even Evie looked surprised.

"What's wrong? What does it mean?" Rick demanded.

"It's, um, Latin … for Oracle." Evie blinked, gazing down at her friend, "There is this, um, story of an Oracle in the time of Seti II. She was said to be the one that foretold his death, the battles he would win, even the birth his youngest daughter. She used to call her self Oraculum_ …_"

"But what has that got to do with anything?"

"It cannot be …" Ardeth breathed, his eyes wide, "Miss Hana … is **the** Oracle. She has to be." His hands rose to her cheeks again, watching her closely. He could barely hear the explanation that the Curator's explanation. She was the key to everything – the reason that the Creature had been cursed in the first place. If he knew that she was alive, reincarnated in this day, he would no doubt try to kill her, before history repeated itself. This couldn't be a coincidence. The Oracle reincarnated and the Creature reborn, both in the same time frame, same place – it couldn't be. He watched as she leant into his right hand, her breath wavering, her eyes fluttering with confusion in their depths. Her body gave a jerking moving and her hands shook more. Her lips trembled. She was coming too.

"It seems, between Miss Carnahan and Miss O'Connell; we might have found a way to defeat the Creature." The Curator commented, "We're going to need all the help we can get. His powers are growing."

The room's attention turned to the window. They all watched in amazement and dread as the moon covered the sun.

"'And he stretched forth his hands towards the heavens … and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt.'" Jonathan quoted.


	14. Chapter 14: Confusion and Bedroom Attack

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

* * *

Chapter 14: Confusion and Bedroom Attack

Hana only fully came back to reality on the journey back to the apartment block. She was so confused – she couldn't remember anything between Burns' death and seeing Ardeth staring at her in the Cairo Museum. It felt as if she'd fallen asleep for a split second and woke up hours apart. Rick and Evie wanted to know what she'd seen, what had happened. Even Jonathan was pressing her for information! Still, everyone refused to tell her anything. Every time she asked what had happened, there would be a questioning silence, they would look at each other and reply with a simple "nothing much".

It was infuriating.

At that moment, everyone had gathered in the foyer outside Evie's bedroom and were deciding where to go for there. One thing they knew for certain though: they needed to stop the mummy before he killed the remaining holders of the ceramic jars.

"We must stop him from regenerating," Evie stated the facts as she paced the length of the room, her head down as she concentrated, "who opened that chest?"

"Well, there was me and Daniels," Henderson listed, "Oh, and Burns, of course."

"And that Egyptologist fellow," Daniels added.

"What about my buddy Beni?" Rick asked.

"No, he scrammed out of there 'fore we even opened the damn thing," Daniels replied.

"Yeah, he was the smart one." Henderson commented glumly.

"Yeah, that sounds like Beni." Rick muttered under his breath as he began to reload his weapons. He even snaked Hana's handgun off of her to reload it before putting it back where he found it.

"We must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the Creature can get to him." Evie ordered.

"Right," Rick answered, standing up and slinging his gun over his shoulder, "They stay here, you five with me."

Evie was the first one to complain, her voice being heard quiet clearly over the nervous objections of the men who, with all honest, would rather not leave the safety of the fort. Hana remained silent, just staring at the argument in front of her. She'd seen that … creature once before and she wasn't in a rush to see him again.

She did, however, argue when her elder brother turned to Evie, threw her over his shoulder and marched towards her bedroom. His free hand reached out and dragged his baby sister behind him. Both women could hear the pathetic excuses the men offered them when they demanded help (the best had to be Jonathan's "Uh, sorry but he's a bit … tall…". He deposited both girls on the large double bed in the centre of the room before turning on his heel and left the room, locking the door behind him. As both pounded on the door, they could hear the older man threatening the Americans with death to whoever opened those doors. It made Hana wonder who they were more scared of: The mummified corpse of a 3,000 year old High Priest coming back to destroy the world, or Rick O'Connell?

* * *

Hana gave up pounding on the bedroom door long before Evie did. She knew from experience that, for the safety of the Americans, it was probably better that they ignored the pounding. She knew that Rick would follow through with his threats. She was sat on the bed, flicking through an old history book (probably from the curator's library) that Evie had sitting on her bedside, when the younger Carnahan finally sighed in defeat. She leant against the back of the door, her head tilted backwards.

"It's no use." She came to the conclusion that Hana had as a small child, "That scoundrels scared them out of helping us."

"It's one of his many skills." Hana admitted, closing the book and putting to one side, "So what do we do now?"

"There's not much we can do." Evie stated slowly, standing up and taking a place on the bed, laying her head on the fluffed pillows, "I don't spend much time here. I'm usually at the Museum or in the main lobby. All my stuff is there."

"We can still talk." Hana suggested, mimicking the same position that her friend was, "We can start by you telling me what happened while I was out of it."

Evie sighed. "Hana …"

"Don't 'Hana' me Evelyn. I need to know." She insisted her eyes narrowed in frustration, "This is about what happened to me. About what happened while I was out of it. I can't remember anything and it's driving me insane that no one is telling me what's wrong with me. Please Evie, I'm asking you as a friend …"

Evie stared at her friend closely, judging her reaction. She looked so vulnerable, so much smaller than she really is. She was desperate and scared to know what had happened for those 30 minutes and even more frustrate that no one wanted to tell her anything. Evie couldn't even beginning to imagine how her friend felt at this moment and it was that – and only that, she insisted, not the puppy dog eyes she pulled – was what brought her to explain what had happened.

She explained everything: how they had found Burns; how Hana had been ghostly white and unresponsive; how they had gone to the Museum to find the Curator and found the connection with the men in black; how the Curator had explained the story behind the walking corpse (Hana could have sworn she heard the name Imhotep before). More importantly, she explained how the man that was there – how Ardeth had examined her and they'd come to a conclusion about her part life.

"An Oracle?" Hana repeated in disbelief, her body now stiff and straight, "I was … an Oracle?"

Evie made a noise of agreement. "Apparently. I mean, it's only a theory as to why you were comatose for half an hour and why the only thing you said was 'Oraculum' – Latin for Oracle. But the Curator and that man seem to believe it is true and they should be the experts."

"Theory or not, I'm not sure whether I believe that is possible. Flesh eating Scarabs and walking 3,000 year old mummies – that I can deal with, I'm living it right now, but the idea that I was an Oracle in a past life. It can't be! Oracle's are meant to be these … powerful beings … and I'm … well, not."

Evie smiled weakly at the girl. "Don't sell yourself short Hana. You are the most powerful women I know."

Hana remained silence, her eyes drifting to her hand where her fingers were picking at some loose threads on the pillow case. It was obvious that she didn't believe her friend.

"Let's try another approach." Evie stated, changing the subject, a mischievous grin on her face that made Hana shifted nervously, "What do you think about that man in black?"

A picture instantly formed in her mind. She didn't know why but Hana found herself turning pink at the mention of _that _man. "Who? Ardeth? He's, um, interesting …"

"Aww, that's so cute – you're going red." Evie teased.

"Shuddup…" She muttered, feeling her cheeks go an even deeper shade of red. She tilted her head away, using her hair as a shield to hide her new colouring, but it was too late – Evie saw it.

"He is rather handsome, isn't he?" She continued, rolling onto her back, "And exotic. He's like someone out of those romantic novels back in England. I understand why you like him …"

"I … No, I … I don't …" Hana sighed in defeat. Now it was all put in front of her, she knew it was true. She had a crush on big, bad Ardeth Bay, chieftain of the twelve Medjai tribes. She was tiny in comparison. She felt like a school girl with her first crush. "All right. I'll admit I like … Ardeth, if you admit you have a crush on Rick."

It was Evie's turn to go red. "I … I don't know wha … what you are talking about … I have absolutely no feelings for R-Rick O'Connell …"

"So you say." Hana countered with a raised eyebrow. Evie looked away but remained silent, "There's no shame in it, Evie. Rick has always had a way with women – although usually they want to kill him for some reason or other … but a small number fall through the grate. And I think Rick likes you too …"

"… You think?"

"I've seen the way he acts around you. Everything from the tool kit to the way he always pulls you away from danger – he doesn't do that to Jonathan, I can be sure." Hana tilted her head, "There's clearer something there, though I'm not entirely sure what yet, but I can tell you this: you are the first girl he's ever treated like this."

"…Really?"

Hana made a noise of confirmation as she smiled before nudging her friend lightly, "So relax. Breathe. Be Happy." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "You have more of a chance than I do."

Evie wasn't sure whether or not she was meant to hear that last comment but she did anyway. Once again she smiled gently at her friend. "As I told you before, don't tell yourself short. You have a lot more going for you than anyone could ever have."

The youngest O'Connell managed a small smile. _Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it …_

* * *

Sand poured through the key hole into the bedroom, the room where he knew his sacrifice was currently locked inside thanks to that American. Imhotep stepped away from the door and approached the bed that sat in the centre of the room. Two girls lay asleep on the mattress, hands curled under their chin, even breaths making their chest rise and fall.

The first one, the one closest to the door, he disregarded, his attention moving straight to the brunette that slept beside her. She was perfect. His sacrifice. He gently sat on the side of the bed, gazing down at her peaceful form. He ran a finger down her cheek and her lolled into the touch. He gave a side smirk.

"Not much longer, my Anuk-su-Namun." He vowed in a whisper, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She responded slightly as she was roused from her slumber, only to give a scream, muffled by his mouth, her eyes wide with shock and fear. His entire jaw had flaked and decomposed with the strenuous movement.

Evie's hands snapped outward and hit her sleeping friend beside her, waking the younger teacher instantly. Hana stared at the two for a moment through sleep fogged eyes before she too let out a yell and, on instinct, grabbed the nearest thing to her. It turned out to be a lamp that was brought down, hard, onto the mummy's head, shattering instantly. He pulled back with a snarl giving Evie enough time and space to scamper out from underneath him and join Hana's side.

Imhotep glared at the woman, the person in his way, and let out a roar, his jaw dislocating, reminding both of them of something out of a horror story. Hana tightened her grip on the base of the lamp, ready to attack if need be.

The mummy made a sharp movement forward.

The doors to the bedroom flung open with a crash as they hit the wall surrounding them. Both women couldn't help smiling with relief when they saw Rick, Jonathan and Daniels standing in the open doorway.

Rick's face was contorted with annoyance and fury as he held Cleo out in front of him, brandishing her like a weapon. "Hey! Look what I got!"

Cleo hissed angrily at the monster and Imhotep's eyes widened with a shocked fear. He gave a loud roar, transforming into a sand storm. His screaming face formed in the sand as it spun out of the room like a tornado, the wooden shutters slamming shut behind him.

A relief filled silence a washed the room.


	15. Chapter 15: Back To The Museum

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 15: Back to the Museum

Rick made the next decision to go back to the Museum to see the Curator and their Medjai friend. The near death attack that had threatened both Evie and Hana had put him at his wits end. He wanted this mummy put down – today. His baby sister clung to his arms as they walked the wide stone staircase up onto to the upper floors of the Museum of Antiquities. She'd been like that since she had been told of Henderson's death. He grasped her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. She glanced up at the feeling and gave him a weak smile. He gave her a look that promised that nothing would hurt her.

Strangely, she believed it.

The Curator and Ardeth met them at the top of the staircase. They seemed surprised that the group at returned so quickly – they knew from experience that treasure hunters could be less than willing to follow the words of someone who foretold their deaths. It was only when they realised the foreigners were one short that they suddenly became serious.

"What has happened?" The Curator demanded the answer.

"Henderson was killed by your undead buddy," Rick explained roughly, "And then he went on to attack Evie and Hana."

Ardeth's eyes widened a fraction, though it went unnoticed. He turned his gaze to the two women on his right side. They passed over both but landed on one. "Are you okay?"

Though the answer was spoken for both, it was obvious the intention was focused on the younger of the two. Evie hid a smile behind her hand before she answered for both of them: "We're fine. Hana saved me. Hit him with a lamp."

"Really?" Both Medjai asked, although one had a hint of admiration.

Hana flushed and nodded hesitantly. She wanted nothing more than to look away from the piercing brown eyes but she found it impossible. They stayed like that, just staring and accessing, until Evie interrupted, not wanting her friend to get caught by her brother.

"Yes, well, according to legend," she said loudly, watching amused when the two glanced away from each other, both flushed pink. One turned to look at her with wide eyes while the other just glanced at the floor, "the Black Book the Americans found at Hamunaptra is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, it was a notion I was unwilling to believe."

By this point, the small group had begun to walk up the staircase again, heading to the top floor of the Museum where an Ancient Egyptian tablet was kept on display.

"Well, you better start believing it. That's what brought our buddy back to life." Rick mumbled as he led his sister up the stairs, though she didn't really need it. She was his only living relative and, right now, she was being put into danger that he couldn't control – nor have anyway to stop. He just wanted to have her close by and Hana was willing to bide by it.

"Yes. I'm thinking that if the Black Book can bring people back to life then -"Evie continued, deep in thought. She tried not to glance up the taller O'Connell.

"- then the Gold Book can kill him." Hana finished understanding and realisation filling her blue eyes.

"That's the myth." She replied, smiling slightly at her younger friend, "Now we just need to find out where the Gold Book in hidden."

A strange feeling ran up her spine, making Hana tense. There was this strange feeling, this unusual sensation, this urge that made her want to approach the window at the far end of the second floor. Her legs moved of their own accord to the window pane.

"Hana?" Rick said confused, approaching his sister.

"What is wrong?" Ardeth questioned, touching her shoulder. He followed her gaze and started passively at the scene before him as the chanting of one name grew louder and louder.

"Imhotep. Imhotep. Imhotep…" The people of Cairo spoke the word in a daze, all possessed, as the huge crowd slowly approached the doors to the Museum of Antiquities with weapons and torches, lit by flames.

"And last but not least, my favourite plague – boils and sores." Jonathan commented dryly.

"They have become his slaves." Ardeth spoke solemnly, "So it has begun: the beginning of the end."

"Not quiet yet, it hasn't. Come on." Evie said strongly and she turned and approached the old tablet, kneeling before it. The Curator followed her, assisting in her search. Jonathan went to stand by his sister and Rick followed, needing to know what was going on. Only Hana and Ardeth remained by the window.

"Do you think it's possible?" She asked quietly, tilting her head to the left.

"Do I think what is possible?"

Hana turned and looked up at him from under her lashes. "Do you really think it's possible for me to be some all powerful Oracle?"

Ardeth was silent for a moment, debating how he would explain this to someone so young, someone new to all he had grown up with. "The Oracle was an important character in the stories my tribe tell to our children. She was independent and powerful and, above all, beautiful. She was the one who foresaw the death of Seti II and the one who assured that the Creature was punished for what he did. The powers that she held were … unimaginable, unexplainable to anyone who hadn't known her. It was possible for her to do practically anything." He met her gaze head on and Hana felt her breath catch, "So yes, Hana O'Connell, I do believe it is possible for you to be a reincarnation of the Oracle all those centuries ago."

Hana blinked and stared at him, shocked, disbelievingly.

Ardeth's lips twitched upwards.

"According to Bembridge Scholars, the golden book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Anubis." Evie read aloud, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as her hands traced the carvings.

"That's where we found the black book." Daniels pointed out.

"Exactly."

"Well, looks like the Old Boys in Bembridge were mistaken." Jonathan commented.

"Yes, they mixed the books up. Mixed up where they were buried. So, if the black books inside the statute of Anubis, the golden book must be inside-"Evie began but was cut off by a loud crash from below. Hana spun her head around and watched as the people of Cairo, possessed by Imhotep's powers, stormed into the building.

"Uh, guys? We have a problem." She spoke loudly as she, now out of habit, pulled her handgun from beneath her clothes. She didn't notice the raised eyebrow she received.

"Come on Evie, faster." Jonathan urged.

"Patience is a virtue." She sung in reply.

"Not right now it isn't" Rick retorted in a mimicked way and reloaded his gun.

"Uh, I think I'll go start the car." Jonathan said nervously. No one watched him leave.

"I've got it! The golden Book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra, inside the Statue of Horus. Take that, Bembridge scholars!" Evie said in triumph, finally.

There was a hurry to get outside with the thought that, since the possessed where inside, it would be safer outside. Luckily, they got there was Jonathan was pulling the car up.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Daniels yelled, running over to him, in front of the others. The others quickly followed. "Get this thing in gear, boy. Let's get outta here."

"Evie! Come on, Evie! Hurry up!" Jonathan yelled, clearly panicked by the Americans ordering yells. They didn't even bother to open the door - just jumped in. Hana and Evie let out an 'eep' of surprise each when they found themselves lifted into the car.

That was when Beni ran out of the Museum. Instantly, everyone knew trouble was coming.

"Imhotep! Imhotep!" He yelled.

Imhotep appeared at the window, in the place they were standing at previously, and roared, his jaw dislocating, just as it had back at the apartment block. Hana shivered.

"You're going to get yours, Beni! You hear me?" Rick yelled to the rat like man from his place, as the car started to move, "YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURS!"

"Oh, like I've never heard that before!" He called back to him, smiling widely.

"I hate that man." Both O'Connell's found them selves muttering under their breath.

"He is the least of our problems." Ardeth inclined his head behind them. Everyone, except Jonathan who was busy keeping his eyes on the road, turned to see the Army of Imhotep following the car, at a faster speed at which they had approached the Museum.

Rick cursed loudly and instantly started playing with his guns again, getting them ready.

The battle was on.


	16. Chapter 16: Cornered and Sewers

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue!

* * *

**

Chapter 16: Cornered and Sewers

The men continued to chase the car, always seeming right behind them, no matter how fast Jonathan drove, or how much abuse the Curator shouted. At that time, Rick and Ardeth were preparing weapons with Daniels while Evie and Hana kept a close look out, in case anyone got to close. They gasped, gripping the car seats tightly, when it pulled to a sudden stop. They all looked up to see the crowd of followers, standing in front of them. The other half of the group was closing in behind them and Evie panicked: she pushed her foot down on the accelerator hard.

Jonathan yelled out in pain, his eyes wide, and struggled to regain control of the wheel. The car ploughed through the crowd of possessed citizens, knocking them to the floor and driving over them. The possessed didn't seem to care, none moving to get out of the way and getting caught on the bonnet of the car. Some began climbing on the vehicle, grabbing wildly at the people within and the doors to keep their grips. Thankfully, Ardeth, Rick and Daniels had enough level-headedness to fight the hoards of Imhotep's slaves, meaning Jonathan could focus on driving the car badly through the narrow streets of Cairo.

Hana had her gun at the ready and was using it to pistol whip anyone that got too close for her comfort. Her heart was pounding in her chest and everything she did was out of instinct. She couldn't think of anything else to do. A boil covered and scared hand grasped her wrist tightly. The hilt of the gun hit the hands repeatedly but nothing seemed to loosen the man's tight grip. So she did the next thing she could think of: she screamed.

Jonathan panicked at the loud noise and momentarily lost control of the car, it running into the right side of the road, destroying all the food carts and souvenir stores that littered across the wall. The possessed man hit the carts and groaned, loosing his grip on Hana and crumbling to the floor.

"Jonathan, this will be the one time I'm thankful for your reckless driving!" she shouted over the chaos in relief, relaxing against the back seat of the car.

Her relief was short lived as the panic came back in full force, making her tense, when Daniels was out smarted and pulled off the back of the car by many hands, onto the ground below and mobbed. He cried out for Rick to help him but no one could reach him in time. He disappeared beneath the many bodies of the possessed just as the car was driven into a stand, and they were forced to leave the only form of transport they had when the swarm closed in.

"Okay! Go! Go! Go!" Rick ordered loudly as he lifted Evie out of the car, though his eyes were narrowed on the stranger that had helped his sister. They tried running away but were soon backed up into a corner with no route to escape. The crowd slowed to a stop but they continued chanting the low name of the mummy that had the power to take over their minds. It was then Imhotep appeared from among the crowd, a smug smile on his face.

"It's the creature," the Curator clarified for them all, terrified, "He's fully regenerated."

Imhotep approached them, speaking in Ancient Egyptian, his hand out stretched towards Evie. She tensed instantly.

"Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine, forever," Beni translated, following in the steps of the undead.

"It's 'for all eternity', idiot," the Librarian corrected spitefully, leaving Beni looking confused.

The creature spoke once again in the ancient language. Though she didn't know what it meant, Hana felt a shiver run up her spine and she stepped back into Rick and Jonathan, her hands coming up to hold herself. Beni translated it as, "take my hand, and I will spare the lives of your friends".

"Oh dear, do you have any bright ideas?" Evie asked, her eyes darting between both O'Connell siblings.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking …" Rick told her, looking lost.

Hana gave her a pained look, as realization hit her. There was only one thing to do … _Please don't hate me Rick …_ "Go with him." She spoke indefinitely. She received shocked looks but she didn't pay any attention to them, focused completely on Evie. She looked resigned to the idea and nodded slowly.

She gave Rick a look. '"You better think fast … because if he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming for." She stepped forward and took the hand that was offered out to her. Imhotep seemed pleased.

"No!" Rick shouted, raising his gun.

"Don't!" Evie warned, "He has to take me to Hamunaptra to finish the ritual!"

"No!" Ardeth added, grabbing the older O'Connell's arm tightly to stop him from making any drastic decisions, "She's right. Leave today; fight tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Rick lowered his gun, his expression unrecognizable. "I'll be seeing you again." He whispered threateningly. Beni removed the puzzle box from Jonathan's pocket causing the man to object. Imhotep seemed unimpressed and smug as he turned to leave, dragging Evie behind him. It was as if everything had stopped for that split second, only to start up again when the walking dead ordered their death, in Ancient Egyptian, over his shoulder. Evie panicked instantly as the crowd surrounded her friends and hid them from her view. She fought back against the hold of the creature but his grip was strong and she couldn't shake it. She could only watch helplessly as she was pulled away.

"Goodbye my friend." Beni said cockily to Rick as he too disappeared into the crowd that was closing in, running after his master and their sacrifice.

Rick looked like he wanted to follow the little rat but the possessed people of Cairo, who at the moment would rather happily rip them to pieces, were more important. They needed to escape; it would be the only way to save Evie. Catching the outline of the metal door below that lead into the sewers, he retched it open roughly, crying out a "come on".

Hana was forced down first, followed by Jonathan (who demanded knowledge about his sister) Ardeth and then Rick. The hatch closed above them, leaving them in darkness and the Curator above the ground as he promised to fend them off. It then that Rick let his fury loose.

"What the hell were you thinking Hana?" He snapped. Hana took a hesitate step back, bumping into the front of someone, but she was too scared to notice. Her brother shouting at her was bad enough in the light – it was absolutely terrifying in the dark. "Just let her go with that – that creep? What's wrong with you? Do you want your friend to die? Is that it? Because you might as well as pulled the trigger on your gun there. Your problem is you never think about anyone else …"

"O'Connell … I think that's enough …" Jonathan's voice could be heard drifting through the darkness from opposite her. His voice was cracked with fear and worry.

But he didn't stop.

"… Only yourself, and only about staying alive! Evie was being offered up as a sacrifice and you just let her go – didn't even fight back, didn't think of another plan. I swear if she's dead …"

"ENOUGH!" Ardeth's voice bellowed in the darkness behind her, pure anger in his voice. Silence followed his word.

Hana choked a sob as tears blurred her vision of the darkness. Rick had been angry with her before – of course he had, they were brother and sister after all – but never had he said such things to her, about her. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears as her heart rate sped up with fear.

"I'm so sorry Jonathan … Rick …" she whispered, her voice breaking as she struggled to not burst into tears, "It was the only way … I wouldn't have said it other wise … Imhotep won't kill her, at least not yet … that gives us time to think of a plan while he's distracted by Evie … I just … there was no other way … we all would have died …" she trailed off into a snivel, rubbing her eyes furiously.

"Hana is right … it was the only choice," Ardeth agreed in a low voice, "And such words shouldn't be spoken to a sister, not even through anger, so calm down O'Connell and apologize …"

"Yeah … I'm sorry Hana …" Rick's voice was null of emotion so Hana couldn't tell whether it was sincere or not, but she took it anyway. She was in no position to be a chooser.

"Good … now we need to get to Hamunaptra. Does anyone have any ideas?" Ardeth continued. Hana shivered at the graveled voice spoken in her ear and the feel of his breath against the back of her neck.

"I think I might, but first things first, we need to get out of the sewer." Rick answered after a moment's silence. There was a sound of fumbling and a long, low click of a lighter being lit and Jonathan's face could be seen in the artificial night. It was weary and tired, but determined.

"I thought this might help …" he trailed off weakly.

Hana cleared her throat nervously, her eyes fixed on her shoes. "If we, um, follow the layout of the sewage system, we should arrive at the, uh, next hatch. That will take us onto dry land in Cairo. We can … follow your plan from there."

She could just about see her brother give her a stiff nod, his eyes darting from his younger sister to the shadows ahead of them. "Right … let's go …" he ordered and moved into his leading position, taking Jonathan's lighter from him who, for once, didn't argue about having something taken from him.

Hana watched the two go with a helpless look on her face. She jumped when she felt cotton brush against her bare arm and she turned to meet the intense stare of the Medjai that could just about be made out in the dimness. She felt breathless and at a loss for words under his piercing gaze. It was as if he was staring right through her, yet seeing every inch of her conscious.

"I know it is hard, sending a friend with something that is possibly harmful." He spoke quietly so that only she could hear him, "What you did was intelligent. True military thinking. And what Miss. Carnahan did was incredibly brave. Not even some of my best Medjai would willingly go with such a creature … just remember, you did the right thing and, deep down inside, your brother knows this. He is just, ah, blinded by emotions for the woman. He didn't mean what he said. Don't let it worry you." He straightened up and turned to face the two men that were invisible expect for the faint orange glow in the distance. "Come. We better hurry before we lose your brother and his friend in this maze."


	17. Chapter 17: Winston and Aeroplanes

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

* * *

Chapter 17: Winston and Aeroplanes

Once out of the sewers, Rick 'borrowed' a car that must have been left behind by one of the possessed – in a hurry, someone might add, seen as the keys were left in the ignition. From there, it took them to Winston's place. Hana had never met Winston but she knew, from stories her brother had told her years before that the man had once been a member of His Majesty's Royal Air Force and had saved the older O'Connell's life. But the real life man in front of her was nothing like she had imagined.

Winston was a short stocky man, with a whitened moustache that seemed to take over most of his chubby face. He was dressed all in a beige colour, seeming to blend into the vast planes of sand behind him, as he sat under the white umbrella, sipping his tea and listening to music that was guessed to be in Spanish.

"Morning Winston. Uh, a word?" Rick called out to him, "We have a problem."

The ex-air force pilot placed his tea onto the table beside him. "Does your problem have anything to do with His Majesty's Royal Air Force?"

Rick smirked. "Not a damn thing."

"Is it dangerous?" Winston asked, getting excited. He leant forward in his seat and appeared to be hanging onto the O'Connell's every word.

"Well, you probably won't live through it." He answered offhandedly as if were nothing. Hana appeared gob smacked – _what the hell was wrong with this man? Had the war really messed with his head that much?_

"By Jove, do you think so?"

"Well, everyone else we've bumped into has died, so why not you?" Jonathan commented with a shrug.

"What's the –"he cleared his throat and put on a professional voice, "What is the challenge?"

"Rescue the damsel in distress. Kill the bad guy and save the world." Rick listed off, his arms folded across his chest, a smug look on his face. He already knew he'd had Winston's help as soon as he'd said 'dangerous'.

"Oh! Haha! Winston Havelock at your service, haha!" He saluted the group with a smile. "Wait here. I must go prepare the plane. Shouldn't take too long. Just need to fill her up."

Hana watched the man go, decided that the man had definitely lost his mind. She hadn't noticed that her brother had approached her until he grasped her shoulder tightly. She jumped and turned to look at him, relaxing into a nervous, attentive smile.

Rick looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. "Hana … I'm sorry … All those things I said down in the sewers, it was uncalled for … Ardeth was right, I shouldn't have been angry at you. I'm supposed to protect you, not hurt you … I just …" he sighed and scratched the back of his head, "I don't know what happened … I just don't want anyone to get hurt on this mission, or whatever it is … I know that sending Evelyn with that … guy … was probably a smart thing to do – and she would have done it anyway, even if you hadn't suggested it … I, ah …"

Hana gave her brother a real smile of understanding. "I get it Rick, I do … I didn't want to send her off … I just, it seemed like our only hope … the safest way of getting out of there at the time … I know Evie may not look like it, but she can hold her own. Not very well mind you – that's why we have to get there soon – but she's a big girl and can take care of herself …"

She reached up and clasped the hand that was still in place on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly to show that he was forgiven. Rick let out a low sigh, resembling a breath more than anything, and kissed his younger sister on the forehead.

"There's only one seat beside the drivers seat so we'll have to attach the rest of you to the wing." Winston rejoined him, his voice in high spirits, as he pulled a military issued plane behind him.

Rick pulled away from his sister and approached his old friend. "I'll take the seat. I can handle a gun better, in case of any trouble."

"Wonderful!" Winston chorused joyfully as he went through the trouble of attaching thick wire to each wing. Suddenly, Hana felt _really_ nauseous.

* * *

The wind blew around Hana violently, rocking her from side to side viciously. She kept her eyes clenched shut, her head turned away into her shoulder, and she clung tightly to the black fabric of Ardeth's clothes. God, she hated flying, always had and now, after this experience, always would do.

"How you doing?" Rick shouted at the two over the sound of the planes engine, sounding cheerful, a huge grin on his face. It was obvious he was enjoying this situation more than he should be.

"How the hell do you think I'm doing?" Hana yelled back, her voice muffled by both her shoulder and the Medjai beside her. A strong gush of wind rocked the wing causing her to squeak in fright and cling to the man beside her tighter. Ardeth tensed for a moment, turning his head towards her, before he forced himself to relax. She was scared, that was all. Even he had to admit (privately because he would never say it aloud) that being tied to the wing of an aeroplane, driven by someone who was bend on suicide, was far from comfortable – _though it is entirely more pleasurable with the petite, female body pressed up against me_. He refused to dwell on that thought.

With her face hidden, Hana didn't see the sandstorm that was approaching the plane but Rick and Winston did. There was a comment in there about the biggest sandstorm the old pilot had ever seen … and then the storm gained in size. Rick's eyes widened instantly – this wasn't just a regular sandstorm …

"Hey Winston! Pedal faster!" he shouted the order over the roar of the engine. Ardeth swore under his breath when he caught sight of the inhuman disaster that was heading towards them. That was enough for Hana to not look up.

"Imhotep?" she asked quietly.

The Medjai hesitated. "…Sandstorm…"

"Brilliant."

Winston shouted something but it was placed on deaf ears, unable to be heard over the blood pounding. The plane did a nose dive down a high ledge as they tried to escape the wall of sand that was following them. A face appeared in the mass of grains, screaming, and it increased in speed. Gun shoots could be heard as Rick fired into the sand (a stupid plan, Hana thought) but it was futile. It only made the thing angry. It increased in speed, closing in. The face in the sand seemed more deadly with his mouth agape – and they flew straight into it.

The sand surrounded them, getting everywhere, choking, before suddenly the sand barrier died. Winston cheered and made to do a loop of victory when the engine clinked, clogged with grains of sand. With no control of the flying machine, it crashed just over a sand dune.

Hana found herself dislodged upon impact, just lying on the sand a few inches away from the wreckage of the plane, disorientated and with a pain in her back from the force of her landing. She groaned as she tried to move. She heard a distinctive snap to her right and then a thump as someone hit the sandy ground beneath them. A few seconds later, the face of Ardeth Bay appeared above her own, blocking out the heated sun that was pounding down on them.

"Are you okay Hana?" he asked.

Wincing, Hana made her self sit up, massaging her lower back. "I … I should be … Man, I'm never flying again …"

"That's something we all can agree on." Ardeth mused as he held out his hand and gently (something Hana found unexpected) pulled the younger women to her feet unsteadily. She gave him a small smile in thank you, which he returned before he turned to pull the machine gun from the contraption, and looked over at the damage caused.

"Excuse me. Um, a little help would be useful, if it's not too much trouble!" Jonathan's voice escalated into a shout of annoyance from the other side of the broken plane. Hana watched as Rick muttered "yeah, yeah" under his breath and walked around to roughly un-strap the Carnahan from his place.

"Winston! Hey Winston!" Rick shouted as he trudged through the heavy sand to the front of the plane, towards his friend who sat there almost in shock. Ardeth appeared at Hana's side, surprising her, and inclined his head towards the others. She gave him a side ways smile and approached Jonathan, who was brushing himself down indignantly in a useless attempt to remove the sand grains from the creases of his clothes.

She smiled once at him in amusement, before turning to look at her brother. He stood by his friend, two fingers pressed to his neck and a deep frown on his face, his eyes drooping sadly. Hana could only assume the worst. There was a shifting noise from beneath their feet, followed by a loud clunk as the plane began to skin into a gravelled grave.

"Quicksand!" Ardeth shouted in panic, his arm spread out to his right to push Jonathan and Hana away from danger, his other hand grasping the back of Rick's shirt to pull him back. "Get back, its quicksand!"

Once at a safe distance, the four watched in silence as the plane sunk into the ground, Winston still in the pilot's seat. Gently, Hana reached out and grasped her brother's hand, squeezing it lightly to show she was there for him. He didn't turn to look her but he squeezed in return before saluting the memory of his friend and all that he had done for them all. With his free hand, he bent and picked up his bag that lay, where he had thrown it, at their feet.

From there, the four turned away from the final resting place of a (now) dear friend to all, and headed towards their final destination: Hamunaptra.


	18. Chapter 18: Scarabs and Horus

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

Chapter 18: Scarabs and Horus

When the small team of four reached Hamunaptra, the first door they faced within the walls of the City of the Dead had been blocked with rocks of all shapes and sizes. It was assumed to be caused by Imhotep, just in case the sandstorm didn't kill them. Rick and Ardeth immediately set to work at removing the rocks to allow them clear passage. Hana went to help but, with her lack of upper body strength, found her self only able to lift the smaller rocks on her own. Jonathan had, at first, helped in the process but soon found the rock removal a test of his fitness, which he had failed. He now stood behind them, shouting words of encouragement.

"I'd take the bigger stones first. And take them from the top; otherwise the whole thing will cave in on us. Come on; put your backs into it." At this point, Rick and Ardeth stopped what they were doing, to turn a give the man a look (Hana chose to ignore him and continuing shifting the rocks). Jonathan smiled nervously at them and took a slight step back. "Yes, well, you've got the idea. Chop-chop!"

Hana barked out a laugh and shook her head as the two men gave their unhelpful companion a glare and turned, slowly, to continue. Jonathan moved away from them at this point and glanced around the hall curiously. When they had first been here, he didn't remember being here – though he could have been. Hallways of ancient cities tended to look that same all the way through. _But I don't recall seeing that…_ Jonathan approached a symbol that was engraved in the stone walls. It was circular with holes indented around them – some of the holes were filled with colourful jewels on the backs of metal scarab beetles. The Carnahan brother plucked one off the wall, placed it in his palm, and examined it carefully. Though he knew he should have been focusing his attention somewhere else, the jewelled beetles appealed to the darker side of his personality and he wondered how much he could fetch for the old (and possibly expensive) jewel.

"I say! Come and have a look at this …" Jonathan breathed out. He was ignored, the group far too concerned about getting the entrance cleared so they could get to Evie, until he screamed.

"It's my arm! My arm!" Jonathan shouted, squirming, as Rick stood up and ripped the sleeve off his shirt to see a lump, about the size of a child's fist, travelling up his arm, under the skin.

"Whoa!" Rick commented, as the older Carnahan shouted, "Do something". Rick turned to Ardeth as he patted down his pockets quickly, "Hold him!"

Ardeth obliged, holding the smaller man's shoulder in an attempt to stop the lump from getting away. Rick finally pulled a pen knife out of his pocket and approached the man.

"Not that!" Jonathan objected, panicked, as Rick ignored him and pierced the skin with the tip of the blade where the lump was moving. Hana watched worriedly, not sure what to do. With a flick of his wrist, the scarab beetle was dislodged and sent flying to the sandy floor. It regained its bearings and squeaked loudly, annoyed, as he hurried to towards the group of four. The sound of a gun firing echoed around the hall as Rick took aim and fired.

"Are you alright Jonathan?" Hana asked, getting closer.

He whimpered in response.

She narrowed her blue eyes and looked at the wound. "It's not that bad. Stop fussing." She assured before turning to the two other males of their group, "Did anyone bring a medical kit?"

When she received the small pack from her brother (and after assuring them she could deal with this on her own, and to get back to work with the rocks) Hana got to work. As she had done to her brother and her primary school students many a time, she cleaned the wound quickly with antiseptic and added two stitches, just to keep the skin together. With reassurance that the worse was now over, she wrapped the bandages around his shoulder wound, under his arm and around again, keeping it tight. She brushed her hand across it gently, caringly, and then helped the Carnahan to get his shirt back on; despite the fact it was no ruined.

"Thank you …" Jonathan commented sheepishly.

Hana smiled kindly at him as she packed away the medical kit. "It's no problem. Your shoulder should be fine now – the wound should heal quickly but don't strain yourself too much, yeah?"

Ardeth found himself watching the dark haired women closely as she tended to her friend, his work slowing down in his distraction. He had learnt a lot about her these last few days but he never expected her to be a healer, as well as a caring woman. He found himself wanting to understand her – needing to – but he couldn't quiet understand why.

"O'Connell … I know you and Hana are siblings but how is it that you do not look the same, though similar?" he couldn't stop himself asked.

Rick didn't look up as he answered. "Hana and I are half siblings. My mother, an English woman, died when I was born and Hana's mother, an exotic dancer, born and raised in Egypt. She was a great lady, brought both of us up alone after the death of our father in the war. Really cared you know. She died of natural causes when Hana was around five, six, and from there we went to Cairo Orphanage."

"I'm sorry for prying." Ardeth apologised.

"Don't worry. You didn't know." Rick answered shortly.

There was an awkward moment of silence, in which Ardeth found his attention completely grasped by the way she treated her friend's brother with such concern. "Your sister … she is a very kind-hearted person …"

It was then that Rick looked up. His eyes narrowed, he watched the way the Medjai looked at his baby sister and instantly felt the over protectiveness of an elder brother take hold. He wanted nothing more than to curse the man and ordering him to keep his blood-stained hands of his innocent sister but, when Hana moved to help them and turned red under the Medjai's gaze, returning the look, Rick knew there was nothing he could do. If he said anything, he might well lose his sister forever. He settled for just remaining hostile and besides, there was a big change they would never see each other again. Either Rick would travel away, taking his sister with him, to ensure that they were never involved in something like this again, or the world would end.

"Yeah … she is…" he muttered, turning back to the stone removal.

Rick aimed his gun and shot at the Egyptian mirror in the next room. It moved upon impact and the sunlight reflected, lighting up the whole room. Hana gapped when she saw what the room contained. As the treasure room, the room was sure to hold ancient wonders but she never expected so much gold, so many sparkling jewels. Jonathan assumingly hadn't learnt his lesson as his dark eyes lit up and he preformed a prefect rendition of a guppy fish. Slowly, the four walked down the stone steps, making their way into the newly discovered room.

"Can you see?" Jonathan stammered.

"Yeah."

"Can you believe..?"

"Yeah."

"Can we just..?"

"No."

They were almost at the exit, at the entrance to the next room, when the unearthly groaning began, getting louder, and closer. They froze at the noise, searching for where the source was coming from. Somewhere behind, Hana decided and slowly turned but found only the treasure room, void of anything expect gold. But still the noise was there.

Jonathan yelped in surprise, covering the sound of Hana's squeak of fright, as mummified hands shot up from below the ground. There was only three at first; mummy's pulling them selves up from the stone ground that had been their final resting place for god knows how long. Hana removed her gun instantly, taking aim at one of the creatures but did not shoot.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Rick questioned.

"Priests. Imhotep's Priests." Ardeth clarified.

"All right then." Rick nodded and, almost instantly, guns were raised and bullets were flying. Rick was using one of the big shotguns. Ardeth was using the machine gun he had pulled from the back of the plane. Jonathan, after a moment's hesitation, stole the two handguns from Rick's holsters and began shooting one at a time. Hana used her handgun but the bullets ran out and she found herself stealing a reload from her brother's back pocket. The mummy priests just took the bullets, moving with the impact of the bullets, but they didn't stop, though some where definitely slowed down. Backing up slowly, they walked into the next room.

"There he is! Horus old boy!" Jonathan cried joyfully as he rushed towards the statue, searching for a secret compartment. Rick passed his gun off to Hana and pulled an explosive out of the bag he had slung over his shoulder. Striking the match across Ardeth's strong jaw line, much to the man's annoyance, Rick lit the explosive and threw it carelessly into the tunnel they had just come from, into the pit of groaning mummies, mumbling, "Time to close the door."

Pulled behind the statue by her brother, Hana found herself squished between Ardeth and Rick, her cheeks turning red. She could feel every muscle the Medjai held pressed up behind her and, regardless of the current circumstances, it was incredibly distracting. As soon as Rick moved, Hana scrambled to her feet after a second longer of enjoying the feeling of the man so close. The groans that had ceased for a moment restarted. After sharing a look, Ardeth began reloading the guns they held in their armoury. Hana instantly took aim and fired into the entrance, hoping to hold them back so Jonathan could find the book they needed.

"Damn, these guys just don't quit do they?" Rick gritted out.

"Just keep digging." Ardeth ordered as he fired out another round in the moaning, darkened tunnel.

Jonathan, with the help of Rick, managed to pull a box out from beneath the statue of Horus. There was some fumbling with the lock before it was finally opened revealing the golden book within. Hana and Ardeth continued to fight off the mummies that were still trying to force their way through to them, despite the fact most had lost arms and legs in the explosion. It didn't help that the amount of mummies seemed to have tripled already.

"Save the girl. Kill the creature." Ardeth suddenly turned and told them, quickly reloading his gun.

"What?" Hana stated, following his gaze, "You can't be serious…"

Ardeth pierced her with a look that clearly said he was always serious, before a battle cry rumbled from his chest and he tore into the crowded hallway. Her mouth laxer, she watched as the Medjai hit one of the mummies with the hilt of the gun he was holding. At the moment of impact, pain exploded behind her eyes and Hana found herself fading away. It was like she was dreaming; she could feel her body standing in one place but the noises around her, and the sight before her … it was completely different from everything she had experienced before. She was standing in a tunnel, all alone. Grunts and gun shots could be heard in the distance and, hesitantly, her hand trailing along the stone walls followed the path to the sound.

Ardeth stood amidst bodies of the undead, battling furiously against the swarming bodies. He fired the guns he held with skill and, once the reload was empty, he attacked them with fists, legs and the handle of the gun. He seemed to be holding his own in the fierce battle even though he was seriously outnumbered. For a moment, Hana wondered what this was but, reverting her memory back to the story Evie told her about what happened while she was out: _**"They said you were the reincarnation of the Oracle that Seti II relied on for most of his knowledge of the world – she was the reason Seti won so many of his wars, how he knew the plans of his enemies … the Oracle was a very powerful women, especially for someone so young … and you know what is strange? The Oracle was said to have eyes 'as blue as the ever-expanding ocean' … kind of like your eyes, huh?"**_

_This must be a vision_, Hana decided, _though this is strange. I've never had one while awake before_. Admiring the sleek movement of the Medjai's battle techniques, the younger O'Connell wondered why she was seeing the scene. She doubted it would be because of her own personal reasons. Everything seemed to be going to well until … Ardeth cried out in pain when a mummy attacked from him behind while he was busy with one in front. That moment of distraction, the moment of hesitation was enough for the mummies to get the upper hand …

"_No!"_

The vision cleared and everything had returned to where she had left it. It was like no more than a moment had passed since the last time she saw this place but she knew it must have been longer – for her at least. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage furiously and refused to calm. Ardeth shouted out something that, for her, fell on death ears and returned to punch one of the mummies in the fast as the priest got too close. Her eyes wide, visions of the future crossed her conscious once more and she refused to let that happen. Before she could even think about it probably, ignoring the cries from both Rick and Jonathan, her feet had already moved after Ardeth, into the dark, mummy filled death trap.


	19. Chapter 19: Mummies and Impulses

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

Chapter 19: Mummies and Impulses

Hana steadily took aim and fired the handgun. The crippled looking priest was distracted and didn't see the bullet coming towards him until it ripped through his head. He jerked on impact and slumped to the floor, but she knew he wouldn't stay down for long.

"Hana, what the hell are you doing?" Rick screamed out at her.

"Get out of here Rick!" Hana ordered as she slammed the pistol down on the hand of one of the mummies. She then pulled the creature forward and lodged her elbow in the weaken junction between neck and head. There was an unearthly cry before he dropped to the ground, "Save Evie and stop Imhotep! I'll be fine – I promise! Just go!"

She could see the hesitation in her brother's gaze and gave him the most encouraging smile she could muster when you were fighting off impossible beings. He returned the same look but she didn't get the full effect it was meant to before another body reaching towards her caught her gaze. Instantly, she fired at the monster, turning away from her brother. She kicked the mummy as hard as she could when he tried to move again. A hand grasped her wrist tightly and instinctively moved to attack – she stopped when she saw the hard, almost furious gaze of Ardeth Bay.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed angrily.

"Saving your life," she retorted.

Using his grip as a pivot, she swung around and kicked an approaching mummy in the chin. His head snapped backwards sharply. There was a squeak again as he grasped at the place his head should be in panic. In the background, there was a thump followed by a loud bang, an explosion, and the cavern was immersed in darkness. Only a dim light in the distance, and the light from the royal treasury, lit the whole area. It wasn't very bright but it was enough to see the five mummified priests look around in confusion and fear.

"They aren't very smart, are they?" Hana whispered.

"No…but they are now even more deadly…" Ardeth warned.

At first, Hana wasn't quite sure what he was talking about – surely these things couldn't be more dangerous than they already were – until she felt a sharp grasp on her upper arms, nails piercing flesh. She winced and tore her arm away from the mummy. Apparently, they panicked in the dark.

In retaliation, she straightened her hands and knocked him in the side of his neck. He gapped and fell away from the pressure, into another mummy where they instantly started grappling.

Hana turned and fired at an approaching mummy. He recoiled under the impact but kept moving forward. She reached out and kicked him firmly between the legs. Dead or alive, it worked a charm. She had just regained her balance when a hand grabbed her ankle and dragged her downwards. At the suddenness, she dropped her gun.

Squealing in surprise, she struggled as she was pulled across the gravel and stone covered ground. She kicked her free leg out and planted her foot through his chest. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the feeling of emptiness in the mummy's chest. It slowed him down only for a moment when he paused to stare in confusion at the intrusion, before he continued pulling her towards him. She swung her fists and collided with his jaw but still it didn't stop. Panic gripped her heart as she found her training failing her – although she doubted her brother was expecting her to be fighting off the undead. Her arms fell to the ground and her hands dug into the ground, trying to hold herself in place. The priest seemed to smile menacingly down at her.

She watched him with wide eyes and wriggled her foot that was still in his chest in an attempt to free it. She bit her bottom lip and braced herself for whatever would come. She was momentarily surprised when a gun – a familiar gun – pressed against the mummy's temple. She flinched when the gun was fired and the mummy's head was blown off.

Ardeth ripped the body from her leg and chucked it effortlessly at a mummy who was running towards them. He collapsed under the weight.

"Are you alright?" Ardeth asked as he helped her to her feet. She nodded quickly and snatched her gun back to throw it at the mummy who had just put his head back into place – it was knocked off his neck once again.

He removed the two blades he kept at his hips and handed one over to Hana. She rolled the handle in the palm of her hand. It was lighter than she excepted but comfortable.

"So how do we stop these guys?" she asked.

"They will not stop. Not until the Creature is stopped. But we can slow them down." Ardeth explained, his eyes alert, "Beheading works…and so does a particular act of foul play…"

Hana flushed red in embarrassment at the statement but couldn't help the flutter in her chest when she realised, he had been watching her. She cleared her throat. "I had to improvise. Plus that move has helped me out a lot in the past…"

One hand reached for her and she sliced it off quickly. It fell to the ground and scrambled. Hana stepped on it, stopping the movement, and swung the sword at the mummy, removing his head. The body fell to the floor, on hands and knees, searching for his head. Hana kicked it away from his reach, turning quickly and impaling another in the chest.

It was the same one from earlier, his body regained, so the sword merely went through the foot shaped hole. He walked onto the blade. Hana wrinkled her nose, racking her brain for a plan. She hadn't noticed that the mummy had stopped and was staring at her strangely through the one gapping, empty eye socket visible. She smirked when an idea hit her, and dragged her blade upward. She was his look of surprise before he collapsed in a heap, sliced in half.

The fight seemed to last hours but in reality it was only a few minutes. Although the mummies weren't all that bright, they were strong and persistent. Just when you thought you had time to breathe, another priest had reattached his head and was attacking you again. Hana huffed out her objections and frustrations by hacking away harder.

"We can't keep fighting these guys off." she muttered, "There must be something else."

Ardeth fell into a space next to her, panting heavily. His hand was clenched around the hilt of his sword and it was clear in his eyes this was tiring. He glanced at her. "What would you suggest?"

"Ah, um...fire. Fire could work." Hana stammered out her suggestion in a pathetic sounding voice, "All this things are is bandages and ash – easy to burn..."

She expected her idea to be shut down so when Ardeth gaped for a minute before mumbling a "that could work", she was surprised. She watched, dumbfounded, as he headed towards the treasury. She glanced around her at the mummies, who were putting themselves back together, and followed him.

"What are you doing?" Hana questioned when she saw him standing behind one of those large Egyptian mirrors, adjusting it slightly. The light reflected off the surface and shone in her eyes. She winced and stepped out of the line of vision.

"I'm improvising...be ready for if this doesn't work..." he commanded, standing a battle stance. Still confused, Hana obliged, holding her sword point high. She listened to groans and the scrapping off feet across the ground before the five mummy priests finally appeared in the doorway of the treasury. She grit her teeth. Whatever Ardeth was planning, she hoped it work.

The first mummy – the one had beheaded during their first encounter – slowly dragged himself into the sand covered room. He paused when the light blinded him. At least, it shone across his face and Hana believed it surprised the creature that he could feel sunshine on his skin after so long underground. There was a crackling sound, like sizzling meat on the frying pan.

It happened all in one spectacular burst of light. One minute, the creature was staring at the light in confusion; the next he was letting out this eerie, painful scream as flames burned away at the fabric. He flayed for a few minutes, knocking to the other mummies that were standing behind him. It was like a domino – the fire was spreading so quickly. Soon, the room was echoing with such agony, it made Hana want to weep. They sounded almost human.

Ardeth relaxed his stature only when the crying had died down and there was nothing but a pile of ash, blending in with the sand. He returned his sword to its rightful place as he turned to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I, ah, y-yes," she stammered, her throat oddly tight. Shaking, she outstretched her hand, "…here, y-you'll probably want this…"

After a second of intense staring, the Medjai accepted the sword from her. She suppressed a gasp when their fingers brushed. It was stupid of her but the feeling sent shivers down her spine. She hoped she did a good job in hiding it but, somehow, she doubted it.

"Come," he finally said, "We must leave this place."

"What about my brother? And Evie and Jonathan?" Hana questioned.

"They will be fine, but my first priority is to get you out of this godforsaken place, and into safety." Ardeth answered, walking towards the way they had entered with heavy steps, "It would be your brother's wish as it is mine."

"But why is it?" Hana couldn't stop herself from saying. She watched, wide eyed, as the huge man paused in his step. He did not turn to face her, keeping his head in place. She held her breath for his reaction.

"…I am not sure…"

Hana continued to stare at him, even as he began to walk away. It was only when he had nearly disappeared into the next room that she started to move again, running to catch up. She shuddered to a stop when she nearly walked into his back. She blinked surprised and hesitantly placed her hand across the broad back of the Medjai leader. "Ah…Ardeth?"

Neither of them was sure where the action came from. It was both a surprise and a pleasure. Hana gasped when she felt herself being lifted off the ground and pressed against the wall of Hamunaptra, next to the door they had just exited. She stared up at Ardeth with wide eyes, every emotion passing across them, waiting for him to do something; anything.

Ardeth watched her, their faces close. He had no idea what possessed him into making such a drastic move but he couldn't bring himself to stop, although he knew he should. She looked so small, so familiar, looking up at him the way she was at that moment. There was only one thing he could think to do. Raising a hand, he brushed some hair away from her face, trailing the hand downward until it cupped her chin. Her lips parted to breath heavily and he took the instinctive reaction as a positive sign, leaning down to meet her.

Hana's breath hitched instantly at the light, attentive touch of his lips against her own. It wasn't as if she had never been kissed before, but this was something different. She'd never felt anything like this. Her hands rose to grasp his shoulders and she moaned quietly when their lips moved. It was content and slow, as if they had all the time in the world. It was as if all the trouble they had over the past few days had melted away. It was loving and emotion filled and it made Hana's heart beat out of her chest.

But when they finally pulled away, neither knew what to say. They stared at each other with wide eyes; their panting breath caressed their cheeks. With a start, Ardeth pulled away, removing all contact, refusing to look her in the eye. Hana dropped back against the wall, it being her only support at the moment. Her hand rose to her chest to steady her heart, and her eyes watched Ardeth, confused and exhilarated.

"…We must hurry up and leave…" the Medjai spoke, his voice neutral, "…we will meet O'Connell and the Carnahan siblings outside…"

Feeling hurt at the obvious dismissal, Hana nodded and followed the huge man out of the building, although she kept a few steps behind him, refusing to get any closer.

The sun outside momentarily blinded her as they left the building but she didn't complain. She raised her hand to act as a sun shade and continued to stalk the large shadow that was the Medjai leader. She only paused when the ground began to shake, putting her hands out beside her to balance herself.

"Um…what was that?" she asked.

Ardeth spun in a circle, scanning the area silently, before he reached out and tugged Hana closer. Although she did not want to, she didn't fight back. She merely looked up at him expectantly for his answer. He tilted his head downward and said seriously, "The Creature has been destroyed…Quickly, we must run!"

"Why? What's happening?"

"Hamunaptra is sinking into the sand…we must hurry or we will be buried with it." Ardeth explained, as he began pulling her away from the city at a fast pace, a determined look on his face.

"What?" Hana's eyes widened, "No, we can't just leave. What about Rick?"

"You must trust in your brother and your friends that they will get out safety – they have made it this far after all." Ardeth told her sternly, "For right now, worry about you. We must leave."

However reluctantly, Ardeth managed to drag her over to the crowd of camels that were situated outside the building, all of whom were circling in panic and fear. He calmed one and, rather roughly, lifted Hana off the ground, dropping her on the seat. With one wide swing on his legs, he pushed himself up behind her, reaching around to grab the reigns. She flushed at the feeling of his thighs encasing her hips, and sat stiffly. Ardeth urged the camel to move forward and did so abruptly, having the same reaction of self preservation.

With utter despair, Hana watched as the great city that was Hamunaptra crumble to the ground, breaking and disappearing, with no sign of her brother, or her friends. Her hands tightened around the seat that she had been using to keep herself on the animal, her knuckles turning white. She bit her bottom lip worriedly. Her eyes scanned the horizon frantically.

When she saw the three figures standing in the distance, safe and away from the wreckage that was once a grand city, Hana felt like she was going to cry with happiness. She fumbled in her place and forced Ardeth out of the way so she could climb from the high beast. With no care, she stumbled across the vast plain of sand and threw herself onto her brother's back.

Rick stumbled under the sudden pressure and glanced over his shoulder. Relief filled him when he saw familiar blue eyes staring up at him, looking watery. "Hana!" he cried out in happiness, swinging her around to his front and hugging her tightly, a gesture she returned with equal force, "God, I thought I'd lost you. What were you thinking running off like that? You could have died!"

"I didn't, and neither did you. Can we celebrate this impossibility first before you start lecturing me?" Hana told him, laughing as she pulled away. She glanced at Evie and instantly the two girls fell into a tight embrace. "Evie, I'm so sorry. I didn't want to send you off with that…with that Creature. It was the only way I could think of to buy us time and I, ah…"

Evie laughed, smiling widely. "I forgive you Hana – no more apologising!"

The reunions were halted by a startled shriek from Jonathan. Instantly, the three turned to face him, their nerves on end and readying for an attack. They relaxed when they saw Ardeth smiling, a genuine smile, down at them from his position on the camel. Hana and Evie released each other, watching him. Hana's heart skipped a beat, but whether it was because of relief, or shock, or anything else, she did not know.

"You've earn the respect and gratitude of me and my people." Ardeth said, bidding farewell, "May Allah smile upon you always."

His eyes trailed over the four foreigners, lingering on Hana for a moment longer than he should have. Nervously, she smiled up at him. He raised his hand to his lips, then his forehead, and gestured at her with a tip of her wrist. Her smile widened. Ardeth clicked his tongue, turning the camel and setting it into a trot, leaving the four travellers behind.

Silently, Hana watched him disappear into the horizon, suddenly feeling lonely and lovesick. _Until we meet again, Medjai…_


	20. Epilogue

**Oracle's Vision: The Mummy**

**WingedHybrid**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything expect for Hana O'Connell. So don't sue! **

Epilogue

Hana O'Connell gazed out the window of her hotel room that looked the city of Cairo. Not long ago, the entire city had been burnt by falling flames and plagued by warts and boils. It amazed her how quickly the people of Egypt had begun the renovations of the buildings, and how they had overcome the horror of being possessed. As she sat there now, she could she the scaffolding on the prison walls.

It had been seven days since Jonathan had read from the Book of Amun-Ra to put the mummy, Imhotep, down, back to the underworld; seven days since they'd last been at Hamunaptra. Seven days since she'd last seen Ardeth Bay.

Her heartbeat increased, pounding in her ears, at the mere mention of his name. It frustrated her.

They had been through so much and he had just walked away, back to his home village, leaving her feeling alone and abandoned. She knew it was stupid. They barely knew each other but she couldn't stop how she felt about him. What really saddened her was he'd probably already forgotten about her.

She shook her head, searching for a happier topic to consume her thoughts.

Tomorrow, she would be travelling to England, back to the Carnahan family home. Hana had never left Egypt in her life, except for that one time when her Father had taken her and Rick to America before he had died. She could miss Cairo and the children she worked with but she was glad to be leaving. She needed to get away from the nightmare of the pass week.

Behind her, Hana heard the door to her small room open and close, with a mellow click. She didn't react, didn't even turn around – it was probably Rick, she reasoned. The two stayed silent, neither moving. Eyes bored into the back of her skull and her hair stood on end.

"What do you want Rick?" she finally sighed, reaching to rub the back of her neck, warming it up.

"I am not your brother."

She tensed at the deep, rumbling, familiar voice that made her heart flutter, her stomach churn and her face heat up. The voice…she knew it so well. Slowly, as if not quite believing _he_ would be there, in her room, she turned and met the dark brown eyes that she couldn't help losing herself in.

Ardeth Bay stared into her blue eyes; eyes that he could have sworn he'd seen everywhere since his departure. He had heard from his men in Cairo that the O'Connell's would be leaving that week for England and he knew he had to see her. Their last encounter had left him feeling confused and guilty – he needed to sort his thoughts out and most centred on _her_.

"A-Ardeth?" His name left her lips in a breath.

"Hana…it is good to see you again."

Her heart skipped a beat. "So…wha-what are you going here? Shouldn't you, I don't know, be in your village – not that I don't want you here!"

Ardeth chuckled. "I am glad…I wished to talk to you before you travel…"

She inclined her head. "Talk? About what?"

"I wished to apologise for…for my actions back at Hamunaptra. I was forward, lost in the moment. I should never have let it happen."

Hana was certain she could hear her heart breaking, the pieces getting smaller and smaller with every word. Tears stung the back of her eyes and she blinked quickly to suppress them. He…regretted it? But the Medjai Chieftain didn't seem to realise her pain, just continued to talk.

"It was impulsive and very irresponsible of me. I hope I did not offend you in anyway because of my lack of control. I seek your forgiveness."

There was silence between them before Hana, finally, managed to stand on shaking legs. She took in an uneven breath before saying two words she never expected she'd say, much less to Ardeth Bay:

"Get out."

He appeared confused. "Excuse me?"

"You've been forgiven. Now get out." She answered coldly, turning her head back to the window when she felt a tear slide down her cheeks. He apologised…for kissing her. 'It should never have happened' he'd said.

Now she knew just how stupid she was.

The Medjai didn't move from his place.

"Is something wrong with your ears? I told you to get out." She snapped, not even turning to face him.

And still he didn't move. Instead he spoke: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just go away." She sniffed quietly.

Hana raised her head to watch their reflection, expecting to see the back of the Medjai heading out the door. Instead, she found herself gasping when their eyes locked in the glass. More silent tears stained her tanned cheeks.

"Nobody cries for no reason." Ardeth stated and swept towards her. She shivered at his body barely an inch behind her. "Tell me what is wrong."

She didn't want to say. Didn't want to embarrass herself anymore than she already had. She could feel the words at the back of her throat and didn't have enough time to stop them.

"You apologised."

He looked even more confused than before. "You're…you're upset because I apologised? I'm not sure I understand, isn't that what you wanted?"

"I'm crying! Does that seem like this is what I wanted?" she snapped, turning around, before sighing, "…you apologised for kissing me…"

"I'm still not sure what you mean…" Ardeth shook his head, "I thought you would want an apology…after…you didn't say anything…I thought I'd offended you, I…"

"Well, you didn't. I just…you didn't say anything either. As it's obviously not I wanted, how…how do you feel about it?"

Ardeth didn't answer, just stared at the younger women as if entranced. To him, she looked all the more enchanting when red with embarrassment. He couldn't seem to gather words to speak.

Hana turned a darker red. "Ah, never mind…it was a stupid question. That was…uh…" she trailed off breathless when the Medjai stepped forward and cradled her cheeks between the palms of his calloused hands. She looked up at him from under her long eyelashes.

He let out a deep breath and stroked her cheekbones lightly with the side of his thumb. Her eyelids fluttered as her lips parted. Ardeth moved closer, dipping downwards, pausing when his face was an inch above her own. She stared at him, anticipating.

The kiss they shared was simple, sweet. It left both breathless and desperate for more. Fumbling, Hana grabbed at his thick black robes, her knuckles turning white as she struggled to remove the space between them. Her head was spinning, light-headed – she couldn't quite believe this was happening…

She gasped as Ardeth's hands left her face and bunched up the fabric at her waist, dragging her closer. The temperature of the encounter heightened; the kiss deepened as their tongues battled.

She whimpered quietly as a knock caused them to pull apart. They didn't lax their grip.

"Hana…" Rick's voice filtered through the wooden door, "I want to talk to you about something…"

"I…" she cleared her throat and spoke louder, "One minute! I'm not decent!" she turned back to the Medjai, her voice dropping to a whisper, "You must leave. My brother isn't impressed with you at the moment."

Hana relinquished her grip to rush to the window, clicking the latch open. She welcomed the heat of the Egyptian weather. She watched, feeling both light-hearted and saddened, as Ardeth swept to the window. He put his foot on the window sill before stopping, looking thoughtful for a moment. Dropping his gaze to his hand, he gently removed one of the rings that rested on his index finger. He held it out to her.

"Here…take it…" he ordered softly.

She accepted, gazing at it with wide eyes. "What is it?"

He gave her a smile. "The Bay family crest. A promise that we will, once again, meet."

Ardeth gave her one last sizzling kiss before he disappeared down the side of the building. She wanted to watch him but knew she didn't have the time so, slipping the ring onto her finger, she approached the door, opening it quickly, revealing her suspicious looking brother.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, glancing around the room as he entered.

"Never better." Hana admitted, unable to keep the smile off her face.


End file.
